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7 



PICKETT OR PITTIGRS 




AN 



HISTORICAL ESSAY, 

[revised and enlarged.] 



CAPT. W. R. BOND, 

Sometime Officer Brigade Staff Army Northern Virgini; 



•Tell the truth and the world will come to see 
it at last.**— Emerson. 



SECOND EDITION. 



Single copy. 
Five copies, 



| .25 
1.00 



W. L. L. HALL. Publisher. 
Scotland Neck, N. C. 



■ S3 


Library of C0BgrM% 
Offles of tht 

MAY1O1W0 




RegUtor of Copyrlgfctfc 




(Ajl*j. e<J,j 



DEDICATION. 



To the memory of the brave men of Hill's 
Corps, who were killed while fighting under 
the orders of General Longstreet, on the after- 
noon of July 3rd, 1863 ; whose fame has been 
clouded by the persistent misrepresentations 
of certain of their comrades, this "little book" 
is affectionately dedicated. 

W. R. B. 
Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N. C, 
October, 1888. 



Copyrighted 1888, 

BY 

W. W. HALL. 



THE COMMONWEALTH JOB PRINT, 
SCOTLAND NECK, N. C. 



PREFACE, 



10 



The first edition of this pamphlet appeared a short 
time before the publication of the Official Records re- 
lating- to Gettysburg. Consequently many things of 
importance to the subject treated were unknown to 
the writer. Such facts as he possessed of his own 
knowledge or could gather from his comrades and 
other sources, together with a lot of statistics secur- 
ed from the War Department, were published and 
with gratifying results. Very many of the state- 
ments then made and which were not open to success- 
ful contradiction were so much at variance with the 
general belief that the brochure attracted wide atten- 
tion, especially among old soldiers. From Tacoma 
on the Pacific slope and Augusta, Maine, from Chica- 
go and New T Orleans, came assurances of interest and 
,'ppreciation. In fact there are very few States from 
which there have not come expressions either of sur- 
prise that the slander should ever have originated or 
of sympathy with the effort to right a great wrong. 

That the two thousand copies formerly issued 
should have been disposed of two years ago and that 
there is still a demand for the pamphlet, is deemed suf- 
cient reason for this edition. And the recent publi- 
cation in New York of a history repeating the old 
falsehoods emphasizes the need of keeping the facts 
before the public. 

It would be a matter of regret should any state- 



•I PBEFACE. 

ment in these pages wound bhe sensibilities of any 
personal friends of the author, still in such an event 
he would be measurably consoled by the reflection 
that here as in most matters if. is best to "hew to the 
line and let the chips fall as they may." 

Scotland Neck, N. C., April, 1900. 



General James Johnston Pettigrew. 



"'I here lived a knight, when knighthood was in flow'r, 
Who i harm'd alike the till yard amd the bowi 

The family <>f Johnston Pettigrew was one of the 
oldest, wealthiest and most influential of Eastern 
Carolina. His grandfather, Rev. Chas. Pettigrew, 
was the firsl Bishop-elect of the Diocese of North 
Carolina. Be was born upon his father's estate, 
Bonarva, Luke Scuppernong, Tyrrell county, North 
Carolina, on July Lth, L828, and died near Bunker's 
Bill, Va., July 17th, 1863, having been wounded 
three days before in a skirmish a1 Falling Waters. 
Be graduated with the firsl distinction at the Univer- 
sity of North Carolina in 1847. A few months after 
graduation, at the request of Commodore Maury, 
principal of the Naval Observatory at Washington, 
he accepted a professorship in Mint institution. 
Baving remained there aboul eight months he re- 
signed and went to Charleston, South Carolina, and 
became a student of law, in the office of his dis- 
tinguished relative, Bon. .Ins. L. Pettigru, obtaining 
a license in 1849. In 1850 he went to Europe to 
study the civil law in the German Universities. 
There also he became thoroughly acquainted 
with the German, French, Italian and Spanish lan- 
guages. Be became so well acquninted with Arabic 
as to read and appreciate it ; also with Bebrew. Be 
then traveled over the various countries of the Conti- 



6 Gen. James Johnston Pettigrew. 

nent, also England, Scotland and Ireland. In 1852 
he became Secretary of Legation to the U. S. Minister 
at the Court of Madrid. In the winter of 1 861 he had 
printed in Charleston, for private circulation, an oc- 
tavo volume of 430 pages, entitled "Spain and the 
Spaniards," which has been very much admired by 
every one who has read it, for its learning, its re- 
search and the elegance of its style. Having remain- 
ed in Madrid only a few months he returned to 
Charleston and entered upon the practice of law with 
Mr. James L. Pettigru. In December, 1856, and De- 
cember, 1857, he w r as chosen a member of the Legis- 
lature from the city of Charleston. He rose to great 
distinction in that body, by his speech on the organ- 
ization of the Supreme Court, and his report against 
the re-opening of the African Slave Trade. He failed 
to be re-elected in 1858. Again in 1859 he went to 
Europe with the intention of taking part in the war 
then in progress between Sardinia and Austria. His 
application to Count Cavour for a position in the 
Sardinian Army, under Gen'l Marmora, was favora- 
bly received. His rank would have been at least that 
of Colonel ; but in consequence of the results of the 
battle of Solferino, which took place just before his 
arrival in Sardinia, the war was closed and he was 
thereby prevented from experiencing active military 
service and learning its lessons. In 1859 he became 
Colonel of a rifle regiment that was formed and that 
acted a conspicuous part around Charleston in the 
winter of 1860-61. With his regiment he took pos- 
session of Castle Pinkney, and was afterwards trans- 
ferred to Morris Island, where he erected formidable 
batteries. He held himself in readiness to storm Fort 
Sumpter in case it had not been surrendered after 
bombardment. In the spring of 1861, his regiment 



Gen. Jam es .] ohnston Pettigrew. 7 

growing impatient because it could not just then be 
incorporated in the Confederate Army, disbanded; 
Col. Pettigrew then joined Hampton's Legion as a 
private, and went with that body to Virginia, where 
active service was to be met with. A few days after- 
wards, without any solicitation on his part, he was 
elected Colonel of the 22d North Carolina Troops. 
While at Evansport, he was offered promotion, but 
declined it, upon the ground, that it would separate 
him from his regiment. Late in the spring of 1862 
an arrangement was made by which his regiment was 
embraced in the brigade. He then accepted the com- 
mission. He and his brigade were with Gen. John- 
ston at Yorktown and in the retreat up the peninsu- 
la. He was with his brigade in the sanguinary bat- 
tle of Seven Pines, or Fair Oaks, where he was severe- 
ly wounded, and left insensible upon the field and 
captured. He was in prison only about two months, 
and on being exchanged he returned to find that in 
his absence his beloved brigade had been given to 
General Pender. A new brigade was then made up 
for him. How well this body was disciplined and of 
what material it was made this essay has attempted 
to show. In the autumn of 1862, he was ordered 
with his brigade to Eastern North Carolina, where he 
was engaged in several affairs, which though brilliant 
have been overshadowed by the greater battles of 
the war. In May, 1863, his brigade was again or- 
dered to Virginia, and ever after formed a part of the 
Army of Northern Virginia. While commanding 
Heth's division, in Longstreet's Assault, though his 
horse had been killed, and he had received a painful 
wound — a grapeshot shattering his left hand — he was 
witli in a few feet of his own brigade when the final re- 
pulse came. On his regaining our lines, his remark 



8 Gen. James Johnston Pettigrew. 

to Gen. Lee that he was responsible for his brigade, 
but not for the division, shows that he was satisfied 
with the conduct of a part, but not with that of all 
the troops under his command. 

As to one of the two brigades that gave way before 
the rest of the line, he labored under a very great 
misapprehension. He did not know then, and the 
reading world has been slow to realize since, how very 
great'had been its loss before retreating. As to the 
Fact that in proportion to the number carried into 
the assault its loss had been more than twice as great 
as that of any of Pickett's brigades, there is not the 
slightest doubt. The highest praise and not censure 
should be its reward. 

At Falling Waters, on the 14th, he had just been 
placed in command of the rear guard, which consist- 
ed of his own and Archer's brigade, when a skirmish 
occurred in which he was mortally wounded. He 
died on the 17th, and his remains were taken to his 
old home, Bonarva, and there he lies buried near the 
beautiful lake, whose sandy shores his youthful feet 
were wont to tread. May he rest in peace ! 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 



Longstreet's assault on the third day at Gettys- 
burg-, or what is generally, but very incorrectly, 
known as "Pickett's Charge," has not only had its 
proper place in books treating of the war, but has 
been more written about in newspapers and maga- 
zines than any event in American history. Some of 
these accounts are simply silly. Some are false in 
statement. Some are false in inference. All in some 
respects are untrue. 

Three divisions, containing nine brigades and num- 
bering about nine thousand and seven hundred offi- 
cers and men, were selected forthe assaulting column. 
The field over which they were ordered to inarch 
slowly and deliberately, was about one thousand 
yards wide, and was swept by the fire of one hundred 
cannon and twenty thousand muskets. The smoke 
from the preceding cannonade, which rested upon the 
field, was their only cover. In view of the fact, that 
when the order to go forward was given, Cemetery 
Ridge was not defended by Indians or Mexicans, but 
by an army, which for the greater part, was com- 
posed of native Americans, an army, which if it had 
never done so before, had shown in the first and sec- 
ond day's battles, not only that it could fight, but 
could fight desperately. In view of this fact, whether 
the order to go forward was a wise thing or a fright- 
ful blunder, I do not propose to discuss. The pur- 
pose of this paper will be to compare and contrast 
the courage, endurance and soldierly qualities of the 



10 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

different brigades engaged in this assault, dwelling 
especially apon the conduct of the troops command- 
ed respectively by Generals Pickett and Pettigrew. 

If certain heading facts are repeated at the risk of 
monotony, it will be for the purpose of impressing 
them upon the memories of youthful readers of histo- 
ry. As a sample, but rather an extreme one, of the 
thousand and one foolish things which have been 
written of this affair, I will state that a magazine for 
children, "St. Nicholas," I think it was, some time 
ago contained a description of this assault, in which 
a comparrison was drawn between the troops en- 
gaged, and language something like the following 
was used : "Those on the left faltered and fled. The 
right behaved gloriously. Each body acted accord- 
ing- to its nature, for they were made of different 
stuff. The one of common earth, the other of finest 
clay. Pettigrew's men were North Carolinians, Pick- 
ett's were superb Virginians." To those people who 
do not know how the trash which passes lor South- 
ern history was manufactured, the motives which 
actuated the writers, and how greedily at first every- 
thing written by them about the war, was read, it is 
not so astonishing- that a libel containing* so much 
Ignorance, narrowness and prejudice as the above 
should have been printed in a respectable publica- 
tion, as the fact, that even to this day, when official 
records and other data are so accessible, there art- 
thousands of otherwise well-informed people all over 
the land who believe the slander to be either entirely 
or in part true. And it looks almost like a hopeless 
task to attempt to combat an error which has lived 
so long- and flourished so extensively. But some one 
has said, "Truth is a Krupp gun, before which False- 
hood's armor, however thick, cannot stand. One 



PlGKETT OR PETTIGREW? 11 

• 

shot may accomplish nothing-, or two, or three, but 
keep firing it will be pierced at last, and its builders 
and defenders will be covered with confusion." This 
little essay shall be my one shot, and may Justice 
< It 'fend the right. 

In the great war the soldiers from New York and 
North Carolina filled more graves than those from 
any of the other States. In the one case fourteen 
and in the other thirty-six per cent-, of them died in 
supporting a cause which each side believed to be just. 

Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia each had 
about the same number of infantry at Gettysburg, in 
all twenty-four brigades of the thirty-seven present. 
Now, this battle is not generally considered a North 
Carolina fight as is Chancellorsville, but even here 
the soldiers of the old North State met with a greater 
loss (killed and wounded, remember, for North Caro- 
lina troops never attempted to rival certain Virginia 
brigades in the number of men captured), than did 
those from any other State, and, leaving out Geor- 
gians, greater than did those from any two States. 
Though the military population of North Carolina 
was exceeded by that of Virginia and Tennessee, she 
had during the war more men killed upon the battle 
field than both of them together. This is a matter 
of record. It may be that she was a little deliberate 
in making up her mind to go to war, but when once 
she went in she went in to stay. At the close of the 
terrible struggle in which so much of her best blood 
had been shed, her soldiers surrendered at Appomat- 
tox and Greensboro more muskets than did those 
from any other State in the Confederacy. Why 
troops with this record should not now stand as high 
everywhere as they did years ago in Lee's and John- 
ston's armies, may appear a problem hard to solve, 



12 Pickett or Pbttigrew? 

# 

but its soluton is the simplest thing in the world, and 
I will presently give it. 

The crack brigades of General Lee's army were 
noted for their close fighting. When they entered a 
battle they went in to kill, and they knew that many 
of the enemy could not be killed at long range. This 
style of fighting was dangerous, and of course the 
necessary consequence in the shape of a casualty list, 
large either in numbers or per centage, followed. 
Then there were some troops in the army who would 
on all occasions blaze away and waste ammunition, 
satisfied if only they were making a noise. Had they 
belonged to the army of that Mexican general who 
styled himself the "Napoleon of the West," they 
would not have been selected for his "Old Guard," 
but yet, without exception, they stood high in the 
estimation of the Richmond people, much higher in- 
deed than very many of the best troops in our army. 

As said above, Longstreet's assault is almost inva- 
riably spoken and written of as "Pickett's charge." 
This name and all the name implies, is what I shall 
protest against in this article. At the battle of Ther- 
mopylae three hundred Spartans and seven hundred 
Thespians sacrificed their lives for the good of Greece. 
Every one has praised Leonidas and his Spartans. 
How many have ever so much as heard of the equal- 
ly brave Thespians ? I do not know of a case other 
than this of the Thespians, where a gallant body of 
soldiers has been treated so cruelly by history, as the 
division which fought the first day under Heth and 
the third under Pettigrew. I have no personal con- 
cern in the fame of these troops, as I belonged to and 
fought in another division ; but in two of its brigades 
I had intimate friends who were killed in this battle, 
and on their account I would like to see justice done. 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 13 

A mono- these friends were Captain Tom Holliday, A. 
A. G., of Davis' Brigade, and Harry Burgwyn, Colonel 
of the 26th North Carolina. (This regiment had 
more men killed and wounded in this battle than any 
one of the seven hundred Confederate or the two 
thousand Federal ever had in any battle. Official 
records show this.) And then, too, I know of no 
reason why truth, honesty and fair dealing should 
not be as much prized in historical as in business 
matters. 

As the battle of Gettysburg was the most sanguin- 
ary of the war, as by many it is considered "the turn- 
in-- of the tide," so the final charge made preceded 
and attended as it was by peculiarly dramatic cir- 
cumstances, has furnished a. subjectfor more speeches, 
historical essays, paintings and poems than any 
event which ever occurred in America. Painters and 
poets, whose subjects are historical, of course look to 
history for their authority. If history is false, false- 
hood will soon become intrenched in poetry and art. 

The world at large gets its ideas of the late war 
from Northern sources. Northern historians, when 
i he subject is peculiarly Southern, from such histories 
as Pollard's, Cook's and McCabe's, and these merely 
reflected the opinions of the Richmond newspapers. 
These newspapers in turn got their supposed facts 
from their army correspondents, and they were very 
careful to have only such correspondents as would 
write what their patrons cared most to read. 

During the late war, Richmond, judged by its news- 
papers, was the most provincial town in the world. 
Though the capital city of a gallant young nation, 
and though the troops from every State thereof were 
shedding their blood in her defence, she was wonder- 
fully narrow and selfish. While the citizens of Vir- 



14 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

ginia were filling nearly one-half of the positions of 
honor and trust, civil and military, Richmond 
thought that all should be thus filled. With rare ex- 
ceptions, no soldier, no sailor, no jurist, no states- 
man, who did not hail from their State was ever ad- 
mired or spoken well of. No army but General Lee's 
and no troops in that army other than Virginians, 
unless they happened to be few in numbers, as was 
the case of the Louisianians and Texans, were ever 
praised. A skirmish in which a Virginian regiment 
or brigade was engaged was magnified into a fight, 
an action in which a few were killed was a severe bat- 
tle, and if by chance they were called upon to bleed 
freely, then, according to the Richmond papers, 
troops from some other State were to blame for it, 
and no such appalling slaughter had ever been wit- 
nessed in the world's history. 

Indiscriminate praise had a very demoralizing 
effect upon many of their troops. They were soon 
taught that they could save their skins and make a 
reputation, too, by being always provided with an 
able corps of correspondents. If they behaved well 
it was all right ; if they did not it was equally all 
right, for their short-comings could be put upon 
other troops The favoritism displayed by several 
superior officers in General Lee's army was unbound- 
ed, and the wonder is that this army should have 
continued to the end in so high a state of efficiency. 
But then as the slaps and bangs of a harsh step- 
mother may have a less injurious effect upon the 
characters of some children than the excessive indul- 
gence of a silly parent, so the morale of those troops, 
who were naturally steady and true, was less impair- 
ed by their being always pushed to the front when 



Pickett or Pettigkew? 15 

danger threatened, than if they had always been 
sheltered or held in resri've. 

Naturally the world turned to the Richmond news- 
papers for Southern history, and with what results I 
will give ;ui illustration : All war histories teach that 
in Longstreet's assault on the third day his right di- 
vision (Pickett's) displayed more gallantry and shed 
more blood, in proportion to numbers engaged, than 
any other troops on any occasion ever had. Now, if 
gallantry can be measured by the number or per 
centage of deaths and wounds, and by the fortitude 
with which casualties are borne, then there were sever- 
al commands engaged in this assault, which display- 
ed more gallantry than any brigade in General Long- 
street's pet division. Who is there who knows any- 
thing of this battle to whom the name of Virginia is 
not familiar? 

To how many does the name of Gettysburg suggest 
fche names of Tennessee, Mississippi or North Caro- 
lina? And yet the Tennessee brigade suffered severe- 
ly : but the courage of its survivors was unimpaired. 
There were three Mississippi regiments in Davis' brig- 
ade, which between them had one hundred and forty- 
one men killed on the field. Pickett's dead numbered 
not quite fifteen to the regiment. The five North 
Carolina regiments of Pettigrew's division bore with 
fortitude a loss of two hundred and twenty-nine killed. 

Pickett's fifteen Virginia regiments were fearfully 
demoralized by a loss of two hundred and twenty- 
four killed. Virginia and North Carolina had each 
about the same number of infantry in this battle. 
The former had three hundred and seventy-five killed, 
the latter six hundred and ninety-six. 

When in ante-bellum days, Governor Holden, the 
then leader of the Democratic cohorts in North Caro- 



16 Pickett or Pettigbew? 

lina, was the editor of the "Raleigh Standard," he 
boasted that he could kill and make alive. The 
Richmond editors during- the war combining local 
and intellectual advantages without boasting did the 
same. They had the same power over reputations 
that the Almighty has over physical matter. This 
fact General Longstreet soon learned, and the lesson 
once learned, he made the most of it. He would 
praise their pet troops and they would praise him, 
and between them everything was lovely. He was 
an able soldier, "an able writer, but an ungenerous. " 
Troops from another corps, who might be temporari- 
ly assigned to him were invariably either ignored or 
slandered. 

The Gascons have long been noted in history for 
their peculiarity of uniting great boastfulness with 
great courage. It is possible that some of General 
Longstreet's ancestors may have come from South- 
ern France. His gasconade, as shown of late by his 
writings, is truly astonishing, but his courage during 
the war was equally remarkable. Whether his Vir- 
ginia division excelled in the latter of these charac- 
teristics as much as it has for thirty-six years in the 
first, I will leave the readers of this monograph to 
decide. 

If to every description of a battle, a list of casual- 
ties were added, not onh^ would many commands, 
both in the army of Northern Virginia and in the 
army of the Potomac, which have all along been 
practically ignored, come well to the front ; but those 
who for years have been reaping the glory that others 
sowed, would have the suspicion that perhaps after all 
they were rather poor creatures. Our old soldier friend, 
Col. John Smith, of Jamestown, Va., to an admiring 
crowd, tells his story: "He carried into action five 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 17 

hundred men, he charged a battery, great lanes were 
swept through his regiment by grape and canister, 
whole companies were swept away, but his men close 
up and charge on, the carnage is appalling, but it 
does not appall, the guns are captured, but only he 
and ten men are left to hold them. His regiment has 
been destroyed, wiped out, annihilated," and this will 
go for history. But should Truth in the form of a 
list of casualties appear, it would be seen that Colonel 
Smith's command had fifteen killed and sixty wound- 
ed. That is three in the hundred killed, and twelve in 
the hundred wounded. Some gallantry has been dis-. 
played, some blood has been shed, but neither the 
one nor the other was at all phenomenal. "There 
were brave men before Agamemnon." 

In some commands the habit of ''playing possum" 
prevailed. When a charge was being made, if a fel- 
low became badly frightened, all he had to do was to 
fall flat and play dead until his regiment passed. 
Afterwards he would say that the concussion from a 
shell had stunned him. It is needless to say that 
troops who were addicted to this habit stood higher 
abroad if their correspondent could use his pen well, 
than the3' did in the army. 

Was it arrogance or was it ignorance which always 
caused Pickett's men to speak of the troops which 
marched on their left as their supports? It is true 
that an order was issued and it was so published to 
them that they should be supported by a part of 
Kill's Corps, and these troops were actually formed 
in their rear. It is equally true that before the com- 
mand to move forward was given this order was 
countermanded and these troops were removed and 
placed on their left. As these movements were seen 
of all men this order could not have been the origin 



£8 Pickett on Pettigk^w v 

of the belief that Pettigrew had to support tlit-m 
Was it arpoganee and self-conceit? It looks like it... 
That their division stood to Lee y s army in the same 
relation that the sun dovs to the solar system. But- 
then these people, if not blessed with some other 
qualities, had brains enough to know that our army 
eould fight and conquer, too, without their assist- 
ance. They did comparatively little fighting at Sec- 
ond Manassas and Sharpsburg", had only two men 
killed at Fredericksburg, did not fire a shot at Chan- 
eellorsville, for they were miles away, and it is no ex- 
aggeration i;o say that they did not kill twenty of 
the enemy at Gettysburg. 

The front line of troops, the line which does the 
fighting, was always known as "the line." The line 
which marched in rear to give moral support and 
practical assistance-, if necessary, was in every other 
known body of troops called the supporting line or 
simply "supports." Pickett's division had Kemper's 
on the right, Garnott's on the left, with Armistead's 
marching in the rear of Garnett's. Pettigrew's form- 
ed one line with Lane's and Scales' brigades of Pen- 
der's division, under Trimble, marching in the rear 
of its right as supports. How many supporting lines 
did Pickett's people want? The Federals are said oc- 
casionally to have used three. Even one with us was 
the exception. Ordinarily one brigade of each divis- 
ion was held in reserve, while the others were fight- 
ing, in order to repair any possible disaster. 

To show how a falsehood can be fortified by Art, I 
will state that I visited the Centennial Exposition at 
Philadelphia and there saw a very large and really 
fine painting representing some desperate fighting at 
the so-called "Bloody Angle." Clubbing with mus- 
kets, jabbing with bayonets and firing of cannon at 



Pickett or Petiu^ew? 19 

short range, was the order of the day. Of course I 
knew that the subject of the painting was founded 
upon a myth; but had always been under the mi- 
ssion that while many of Pickett's and a few of 
' igrew's men were extracting the extremities of 
•certain undergarments to be used as white flags, a 
part of them were keeping up a scattering fire. While 
before the painting a gentleman standing near me 
exclaimed: "Tut! I "11 agree to oat all the Yankees 
Pickett killed." Entering into conversation with 
him 1 learned that he had been at Gettysburg, had 
fought in Gordon's Georgia brigade, and that he did 
not have a very exalted opinion of Picket's men. As 
our Georgian friend was neither remarkably large 
nor hungry-looking, several persons hearing his re- 
mark stared at him That he did exaggerate to 
some extent is possible, for I have since heard that 
among the dead men in blue, near where Armistead 
fell, there were six who had actually been killed by 
musket balls. 

Col. Fox, of Albany, N. 1., has published a work 
entitled, "Regimental Losses." In it is seen a list of 
the twenty-seven Confederate regiments which had 
most men killed and wounded at Gettysburg. Read- 
ers of the histories of Pollard, Cooke and McCabe will 
be rather surprised to find only two Virginia regi- 
ments on this list. Those who are familiar with bat- 
tlefield reports will not be surprised to see that thir- 
teen of these regiments were from North Carolina 
and four from Mississippi, Three of the last named 
and live of the North Carolina, regiments met with 
their loss under Pettigrew. 

The North Carolina brigade had in killed and 
wounded eleven hundred and five, which is an aver- 
age to the regiment of two hundred and seventy- 



20 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

six. There was not a Confederate regiment at either 
First or Second Manassas which equalled this aver- 
age, and no Virginia regiment ever did. 

This- brigade on the first day met those of Riddle- 
and Meredith, which were considered the flower of 
their corps, and many old soldiers say that this corps 
—the First — did the fiercest fighting on that day of 
which they ever had any experience, and the official 
records sustain them in this belief. Biddle's brigade 
was composed of one New York and three Pennsyl- 
vania regiments. Meredith's, known as the "Iron" 
brigade, was formed of five regiments from the west. 
(By the way. the commander of this body, Gen. Solo- 
mon Meredith, was a native of North Carolina, as 
was also Gen. Jno. Gibbon, the famous division com- 
mander in the second corps, and North Carolina luck 
followed them, as they were severely wounded in this 
battle.) Pettigrew's brigade, with a little assistance 
from that of Brockenborough, after meeting these 
troops forced them to give ground and continued for 
several hours to slowly drive them 'till their ammu- 
nition became nearly exhausted. When this occurred 
the Federals had reached a ridge from behind which 
they could be supplied with the necessary ammuni- 
tion. But not so with Heth's troops. The field was 
so open, the contending lines so close together, and 
as every house and barn in the vicinity was filled with 
sharp-shooters, they could not be supplied and were 
in consequence relieved by two of Pender's brigades. 
In the meantime the enemy was re-enforced by a fresh 
brigade of infantry and several wonderfully efficient 
batteries of artillery, and so when the brigades of 
the "right division'' made their advance they suf- 
fered very severely before their opponents could be 
driven from the field. Meredith's brigade this day 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 21 

6 killed and wounded and 2GG missing; Bid- 
642 killed and wounded and 255 missing'. The 
loss in Brockenborough's Virginia was 148. For the 
whole l,a; tic. as said before, Pettigrew's killed and 
wounded amounted to 1,105; probably two-thirds of 
vhis loss occurred on this day. 

These facts and figures are matters of record, and 
with these records accessible to all men, Swinton, 
a Northern historian, in the brilliant description he 
•j-ives of the assault on the third day says that 
"Heth's division, commanded by Pettigrew, were all 
raw troops, who were only induced to make the 
charge by being told that they had militia to fight 
and that when the fire was opened upon them they 
raised the shout, 'The Army of the Potomac! The 
Army of the Potomac!' broke and fled." As after 
the battle the Virginia division had the guarding of 
several thousand Federal prisoners, captured by 
Carolinians and Georgians, they are probably re- 
sponsible for this statement. 

But to return to the fight of the first daj^. The 
Honorable Joseph Davis, then a Captain in the 47th, 
late Supreme Court Judge of North Carolina, speak- 
ing of this day's battle, says: "The advantage was 
all on the Confederate side, and I aver that this was 
greatly, if not chiefly, due to Pettigrew's brigade and 
its brave commander. The bearing of that knightly 
soldier and elegant scholar as he galloped along 
the lines in the hottest of the fight, cheering on his 
men, cannot be effaced from my memory." 

Captain Young, of Charleston, South Carolina, a 
staff officer of this division, says: "No troops could 
have fought better than did Pettigrew's brigade on 
this day. and 1 will testify on the experience of many 
hard fought battles, that I never saw any fight so 



22 Pickett ok Pettigrew? 

well." Davis' brigade consisted Of bhe55th North Caro- 
lina, the 2nd, 11th and 42nd Mississippi. Thellthwas 
on detached service that day. The three winch fought 
also faced splendid troops. Here, too, was a square 
svand ii|> li'viii in the open. During the battle these 
three had, besides the usual proportion of wounded, 
one hundred and forty-eight killed. Only two dead 
men were lacking to these three regiments to make 
their loss equal to thai often regiments of Pickett's 
"magnificent Virginians." 

Cutler's brigade composed of one Pennsylvania 
and four New York regiments was opposed to that 
of Davis, and its loss this day was '302 killed and 
wounded and 363 missing, and many o£ the missing' 
were subsequently found to have been killed or severe- 
ly wounded. With varying success these two brig- 
ades fought all the morning. The Federals finally 
gave way ; bu1 three of their regiments, after retreat- 
ing for some distance, took up a new line. Two of 
them left the field and went to town, as the day was 
hot and the fire hotter. It is said they visited 
Gettysburg to get a little ice water. However that 
may be, they soon returned. and fought well 'till their 
whole line gave way. 

The ground on which these troops fought lay north 
of the railroad cut and was severed hundred yards 
from where Pettigrew's brigade was engaged with 
Meredith's and Riddle's. As Rode's division began 
to appear upon the field Davis' brigade was removed 
to the south side of the cut and placed in front of 
Stone's Pennsylvania brigade (which, having just 
arrived, had filled the interval between Cutler and 
Meredith) but did no more fighting that day. After 
securing; ammunition it followed the front line to the 
town. Had the interval between Daniel's andScales' 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 23 

been filler] by Thomas', which was held in reserve, 
neither of these Carolina brigades would have suffer- 
ed so severely. The 2nd and 42nd Mississippi and 
55th North Carolina of Davis' for the brittle had 095 
killed and wounded, and about two-thirds of this oc- 
curred in this first day's fight. 

To illustrate the individual gallantry of these 
troops I will relate an adventure which came under 
my observation. It must be borne in mine! that this 
brigade had been doing fierce and bloody fighting 
since nine o'clock and at this time not only its 
numerical loss but its per centage of killed and 
wounded was greater than that which Pickett's 
troops had to submit to two days later, and that it 
was then waiting to be relieved. Early in the after- 
noon of this day my division (Rodes') arrived upon 
the field by the Carlisle road and at once went into 
action. My brigade (Daniels') was on the right, and 
after doing some sharp fighting, we came in sight of 
Heth's line, which was lying at right angles to ours 
as we approached. The direction of our right regi- 
ments had to be changed in 'order that we might 
move in front of their left brigade, which was Davis'. 
The Federal line, or lines, for my impression is there 
were two or more of them, were also lying in the open 
field, the interval between the opposing lines being 
about three hundreds yards. Half way between these 
lines wasanother, which ran by a house. Thisline was 
made of dead and wounded Federals, who lay "as 
■k as autumnal leaves which strew the brooks in 
Vallambrosa." It was about here that the incident 
occurred. A Pennsylvania regiment of Stone's brig- 
ade had then two flags — state and national — with 
their guard a short distance in front of them. One 
of these colors Sergt. Frank Price, of the 42nd Miss- 



24 Pickett ob Pettigbew? 

• 
issippi and half a dozen of his comrades determined 
to capture. Moving on hands and knees 'till they 
had nearly reached the desired object, they suddenly 
rose, charged and overcame the guard, captured the 
flag and were rapidly making off with it, when its 
owners fired upon them, all were struck down but the 
Sergeant, and as he was making for the house above 
referred to a young staff officer i^i my command, 
having carried some message to Eeth's people, was 
returning by a shorl cut between the lines, and seeing 
a man with a strange flag, without noticing his uni- 
form he thought he, too, would gel a little glory 
along with some bunting. Dismounting among 1 the 
dead and wounded he picked up and fired several 
muskets at Price; but was fortunate enough to miss 
him. Sergeanl Price survived the war. His home 
was in Carrollton, Mississippi. Recently the informa- 
tion came from one of his sons, a name-sake of the 
writer, that his gallant father was no more; he had 
crossed the river and was resting under the shade of 
the trees. The parents of Mr. Price were natives of 
bhe old North Mate. Does any one wiio has made a 
study of Pickett's "magnificent division." suppose 
that even on the morning of the 5th. when only eight 
hundred of the nearly or quite six thousand who had 
engaged in battle reported Cor duty, sad and depress- 
ed as they were, it could have furnished heroes like 
Price and his companions for such an undertaking. 
as in spite of friends and foes was successfully accom- 
plished? General Davis says that rx^vy field officer 
in his brigade was either killed or wounded. My old 
classmate, Major John Jones, was^lie only one left 
in the North Carolina brigade, and lie was killed in 
the next spring's campaign. 

The following- extract is taken from a description 



Pickett ok PettigrewV 25 

of the assault by Colonel Taylor, of General Lee's 
staff : "It is needless to say a word here of the heroic 
conduct of Pickett's division, that charge has already 
passed into history as'one of the world's great deeds 
of arms.' While doubtless many brave men of other 
commands reached the cr I he heights, this was 

the only organized body which entered the works of 
the enen i y . ' ' Picket t 's left an '1 Pettigrew's and Trim- 
ble's right entered the works. Men from six brigades 
were there. Which command had most representa- 
tives there is a disputed point. As to the superior 
organization of Pickett's men what did that amount 
to? In the nature of things not a brigade on the 
field was in a condition to repel a determined attack. 

Just before the final rush two bodies of Federals 
moved out on the field and opened fire, the one upon 
our right the other upon the left. The loss inflicted 
upon our people by these Vermonters and New York- 
ers was very great, and not being able to defend 
themselves, there was on the part of the survivors a 
natural crowding to I he <•, .,, , e. The commander of 
a Federal brigade in his report says, ''Twenty battle 
flags were captured in a space of one hundred yards 
square." This means that crowded within a space 
extending <mly one hundred yards there were the 
remnants of more than twenty regiments. But Col. 
Taylor says that Pickett's division "was the only or- 
ganized body which entered the enemy's works." 

The late General Trimble said: "It will be easily 
understood that as Pickett's line was overlapped by 
the Federal lines on his right, and Pettigrew's and 
Trimble's front by the Federal lines on their left, each 
of these commands had a distinct and separate dis- 
charge of artillery and musketry to encounter, the 
one as incessant as the other, although Pickett's men 



26 Pickett or Pettigkew? 

felt its intensity sooner than the others, and were the 
first to be crushed under a tire before which no troops 
could live. While Pettigrew and Trimble suffered as 
much or more before the close because longer under 
fire, in consequeneeof marchingfarther." Andagain : 
"Both Northern and Southern descriptions of the 
battle of Gettysburg, in the third day's contest , have 
without perhaps a single exception, down to the pres- 
ent time, given not only most conspicuous promi- 
nence to General Pickett's division, but generally by 
the language used have created the impression among 
those not personally acquainted with the events of 
the day that Pickett's men did all the hard fighting, 
suffered the most severely and failed in their charge, 
because not duly and vigorously supported by the 
troopson their right and left. It might withasmuch 
truth be sa id that Pettigrew and Trimble failed in their 
charge, because unsupported by Pickett, who had 
been driven back in the crisis of their charge and was 
no aid to them." 

Some time ago Gen. Fitz Lee wrote a life of his 
uncle, (ten. Robert E. Lee, and in a notice of this 
book the courteous and able editor of a leading Rich- 
mond newspaper gives a fine description of the part 
borne by Pickett's division in Longstreet's assault 
on the third day. but has little or nothing to say 
about the other troops engaged ; whereupon a citizen 
of this State (North Carolina) wrote and wished 
to know if there were any North Carolinians upon 
the field when Pickett's men so greatly distinguished 
themselves. In answer the editor admits that he had 
forgotten all about the other troops engaged, and 
says: "We frankly confess that our mind has been 
from the war until now so fully possessed of the idea 
that the glory of the charge belonged exclusively to 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 27 

kett's division thai we overlooked entirely the 
just measure of en ••lit that Gen. Fitz Lee has award- 
ed other commands." Whereupon a correspondent 
of his paper, curiously enough, is in high spirits over 
this answer, and referring to it says: "It is especial- 
ly st rong in what it omits to say. The picture of the 
charge, as given by Swinton, as seen from the other 
side, would have come in perfectly ; but it would have 
wounded our North Carolina friends and was wisely 
left out." 

Now, as to the impertinence of this correspondent 
who refers to what Swinton said, there is a tempta- 
t ion to say something a little bitter, but as the writer 
has made it a rule to preserve a judicial tone as far 
as possible, and in presenting facts to let them speak 
for themselves, he refrains from gratifying a very 
natural inclination. Probably with no thought of 
malice Swinton, in making a historical flourish, sacri- 
ficed truth for the sake of a striking antithesis. This 
of course lie knew. Equally of course this is whatthe 
correspondent did not know. No one ever accused 
John Swinton of being a fool. 

A distinguished writer in a recent discussion of this 
assault says : "History is going forever to ask Gen. 
Longstreet why lie did not obey Gen. Lee's orders 
and have Hood's and McLaw's divisions at Pickett's 
back to make good the work his heroic men had 
done.'' Not so. History is not going to ask child- 
ish questions. 

A Virginian writer in closing his description of this 
assault has recently said : "Now, this remark must 
occur to every one in this connection. Pickett's 
break through the enemy's line, led by Armistead, 
was iii" aotable and prodigious thing about the 
whole battle of Gettysburg.'' If so, why so? 



28 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

The commanders of Wright's Georgia and Wilcox 's 
Alabama brigades report that when fighting on 
Loiigstreet's left on the afternoon of the second; 
day, they carried the crest of Cemetery Ridge and 
captured twenty-eight cannon. The truth of this 
report is confirmed by General Donbleday, who 
says: "Wright attained the crest and Wilcox was 
almost in line with him. Wilcox claims to have cap- 
tured twenty guns and Wright eight." 

In another place he says, in speaking of a certain 
officer : ' ' On his retu rn late in the d ay he saw Sickle ' & 
whole line driven in and found Wright's rebel brigade 
established on the crest barring his way back." 

Late in the same afternoon over on our left in 
Johnson's assault upon Gulp's Hill, Stewart's brig- 
ade carried the position in their front and held it all 
night. Also late the same afternoon two of Early's 
brigades, Hoke's North Carolina and Hay's Louisi- 
ana, carried East Cemetery Heights, took many pris- 
oners and sent them to the rear, several colors, and 
captured or silenced twenty guns (spiking some of 
them before they fell back). And a part of them 
maintained their position for over an hour, some of 
them having advanced as far as the Baltimore Pike. 
It is an undoubted fact that even after their brigades 
had fallen back parts of the 9th Louisiana and 6th 
North Carolina, under Major Tate, held their position 
at the wall on the side of the hill (repelling several 
attacks) for an hour, thus holding open the gate 
to Cemetery Heights, and it does seem that under 
cover of night this gate might have been used and 
the Ridge occupied by a strong force of our troops 
with slight loss. 

On the afternoon of the third day the men who were 
in front of the narrow space abandoned by the enemy, 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 29 

and some who were on their right and left, in a disor- 
ganized mass of about one thousand, crowded into 
this space for safety. (Less than fifty followed Ar- 
mistead to the abandoned gun.) When, after about 
ten minutes, they were attacked they either surren- 
dered or fled. No one knows what State had most 
representatives in this ''crowd" as the Federal Col. 
Hall calls them, but the man who wrote that they 
did "the notable and prodigious thing about the 
whole battle of Gettysburg" thinks he knows. All 
soldiers now know, and many knew then, that in 
sending 9,000 or 10,000 men to attack the army of 
the Potomac, concentrated and strongly fortified, 
there was no reasonable hope of success. 

The thing of most interest to readers of history is 
the question to wmich of the troops engaged on that 
ill-starred field is to be awarded the palm for heroic 
endurance and courageous endeavor. To know the 
per centage of killed and wounded of the different 
troops engaged in this assault, is to know which are 
entitled to most honor. Some of the troops in Petti- 
grew" s division met with a loss of over 60 per cent. 
The per centage for Pickett's division was not quite 
28. The 11th Mississippi, as said elsewhere, was the 
only regiment in Pettigrew's or Trimble's divisions, 
which entered the assault fresh. Most of the other 
troops of these commands had been badly cut up in 
the first day's battle, and the exact number they car- 
ried into the assault is not known, but entering fresh 
the number taken in by the Eleventh is known, and 
the number it lost in killed and wounded is reported 
by Dr. Guild. Consequently there cannot be the 
slightest doubt that its per centage of loss for the as- 
sault was at least 60. It is fair to presume that the 
per centage in the other regiments of its brigade was 



SO Pkkett or Pettigrew? 

equally great. It is also fair to presume that the 
brigade immediately on its right, which went some- 
what farther and stayed somewhat longer under the 
same Terrific fire, lost as heavily. 

If the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 
which it lost 35 per cent, has rendered it famous, why 
should not the charge of Davis 1 brigade in which it 
lost 60 per cent, render it equally famous? And if 
the blundering stupidity of the order to charge has 
excited our sympathy in behalf of the British cavalry, 
is there not enough of that element in the order to 
the infantry brigade to satisfy the most exacting? 
And if Davis' brigade deserves fame why do not all the 
brigades — with one exception — of Pettigrew and Trim- 
ble also deserve it ? 

Col. W. E. Potter, of the 12th New Jersey, Smyth's 
brigade, Hay's division, in an address delivered sev- 
sral years ago, after speaking in very complimentary 
terms of the conduct of the North Carolina and Miss- 
issippi brigades of Pettigrew's division, says : "Again 
a larger number of the enemy was killed and wound- 
ed in front of Smyth than in front of Webb. Of this, 
besides the general recollection of all of us who were 
then present, I have special evidence. I rode over the 
field covered by the lire of these two brigades on the 
morning of Sunday, July 5th, in company with Lt. 
Col. Chas. H. Morgan, the chief of staff of Gen. Han- 
cock, and Capt. Hazard. As we were passing the 
front of Smyth's brigade, Col. Morgan said to Haz- 
ard : 'They may talk as they please about the hard 
lighting in front of Gibbon, but there are more dead 
men here than anywhere in our front.' To this con- 
clusion Hazard assented." 

After the frightful ordeal they had been through it 
is not to the discredit of any of the troops engaged 



Pickett or Pettigkew? 31 

to say that when they reached the breastworks, or 
their vicinity, there was no fight left in them, for 
there is a limit to human endurance. This limit had 
been reached, and this is shown by the fact thatthere 
was not an organization upon the field which, when 
an attack was made on its flank, made the slightest 
attempt to change front to meet it, but either sur- 
rendered or tied. This being the case the only thing 
of interest is to decide which brigades received the 
most punishment before this limit was reached. 

During the recent discussion in the Richmond news- 
papers as to whether any of the North Carolina 
troops reached a point at or near theenemy's works, 
the most prominent writer on the negative side of the 
question gives extracts from the reports of certain 
participants in the charge to corroborate his opinion, 
and by a singular oversight gives one from the re- 
port of Major John Jones, then commanding Petti- 
grew's own brigade, who says : "The brigade dashei i 
on, and many had reached the wall when we received 
a deadly volley from the left." To have reached the 
stone wall on the left of the salient, they must neces- 
sarily have advanced considerably farther than any 
troops on the held. And yet the above writer in the 
face of Major Jones' testimony, thinks that neither 
his nor any North Carolina troops were there. But 
then he quotes from the Federal Col. Hall, "who," he 
says, "gives a list of the flags captured by his com- 
mand when the charge was made." Amongst them 
he mentions that of the 22nd North Carolina, and 
says: "If this can lie accepted as true it of course 
ends all controversy " Col. Hall reports that at the 
close of tlie assault his brigade captured the flags of 
the 14th, 18th, 19th and 57th Virginia, and that of 
tlie 22nd North Carolina. Webb reports that his 



32 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

command captured six flags, but does not name the 
regiments to which they belonged. Heth captured 
those of the 1st, 7th and 28th Virginia. Carroll's 
brigade those of the 34th North Carolina and 38th 
Virginia. Smyth's brigade those of 1st and 14th 
Tennessee, 16th and 52nd North Carolina and live 
others, the names not given, and Sherrill's brigade 
captured three, the names not given. Thus we have 
the names of eight Virginia, four North Carolina and 
two Tennessee andfourteen reported captured, names 
not given. In all twenty-eight, which accounts for 
Pickett's fifteen, Scales' five, Pettigrew's own three 
and Archer's four. One of Pettigrew's and one of 
Archer's having been carried back, some of the other 
troops must have lost one. If official reports which 
say that the flags of the 1st and 14th Tennessee, and 
of the 16th, 22nd, 34th and 52nd North Carolina 
were captured, cannot be accepted as true and thus 
"end all controversy," perhaps a re-statement of the 
fact that twenty-eight colors were taken at the close 
of the assault may do so, for as said above the 
Virginia division had only fifteen flags. 

To show the disproportion that existed at the close 
of the fight between the numbers of men and flags, 
one officer reports that his regiment charged upon 
the retreating rebels and captured five regimental 
battle-flags and over forty prisoners, and a brigade 
commander speaking of the ground at and in front 
of the abandoned works, says : "Twenty battle-flags 
were captured in a space of 100 yards square." 

There is one fact that should be remembered in con- 
nection with this assault, namely : That of ail breast- 
works a stone wall inspires most confidence and its 
defenders will generally fire deliberately and accur- 
ately and cling to it tenaciously. . 



Pickett or Pettigrew? o3 

[Tie stone wall ran from the left and in front o" 
Line's, Davis' and Pettigrew's North Carolina brig- 
3 and ended where the right of the last named rest- 
ed at the close of the assault. At this point works 
made of rails covered with earth began and ran 
straight to the front lor some distance and then 
made a sharp turn to the left in the direction of 
Round Top, continuing in nearly a straight line be- 
j ond Pickett's right. It was a short distance to the 
right of the outer corner of these works when Webb's 
men gave way. 

Several years ago there was published in the Phila- 
delphia ''Times," an article by Col. W. W. Wood, of 
Armistead's brigade, giving his recollections of this 
affair. As the writer had very naively made several 
confessions, which I had never seen made by any 
other of Pickett's men, and had evidently intended 
to speak truthfully, I put the paper aside for future 
reference. I shall now make several selections from 
it and endeavor to criticise them fairly. Our artillery 
crowned the ridge, and behind it sheltered by the 
hills lay our infantry : "The order to go forward was 
obeyed with alacrity and cheerfulness, for we believed 
that the battle was practically over, and that we had 
nothing to do but to march unopposed to Cemetery 
Heights and occupy them. While making the ascent 
it was seen that the supports to our right and left 
flanks were not coming forward as we had been told 
they would. Mounted officers were seen dashing 
frantically up and down their lines, apparently en- 
deavoring to get them to move forward, but ■ we could 
sec that they would not move. Their failure to sup- 
port us was discouraging, but it did not disheart- 
en us. Some of our men cursed them for cowards, 
etc." So Ear no great courage had been required. 



34 Pickett or Pettigrew?' 

But what troops were they that Pickett's people 
were cursing for Howards? On the right they were 
Perry's Florida and Wilcox's Alabama, under the 
command of the latter General. Their orders were 
that when twenty minutes had elapsed after the line 
had started they were to march straight ahead and 
repel any body of flankers who should attack the 
right. This order was obeyed to the letter. At the 
required time they moved forward and kept moving-. 
About where Pickett should have been (Pickett's line 
had previously obliqued to the left) not a Confeder- 
ate was to be seen. They kept on 'and single hand- 
ed ami alone attacked the whole Federal army, then 
exulting in victory . 01" course they were repul sed , but 
when they knew they were beaten did they surrender 
that they might be sheltered in Northern prisons from 
Northern bullets ? Not they. They simply fell back 
and made their way, as best they could, to the Con- 
federate lines. Is there any significance in the facts 
that shortly after this battle Gen. Wilcox was pro- 
moted and (Jen. Pickett and his men were sent out of 
the army ? What other troops were tl i< \y whom these 
men were cursing for being cowards? Some of them 
were the choice troops of A. P. Hill's old division, ever 
famous for its lighting qualities, others were the sur- 
vivors of Archer's brigade of gallant Tennesseans, 
Mississippians, brave and impetuous, North Caro- 
linians, always steady, always true. These men were 
cursed as cowards, and by Pickett's Virginians! 
Achilles cursed by Thersites ! A lion barked at by a 
cur. 

But there was one brigade, and only one, in Petti- 
grew's division which failed in the hour of trial. It 
was from their own State, and had once been an effi- 
cient body of soldiers, and even on this occasion 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 35 

something might be said in its defense. But had this 
not been the case, to the men of Armistead's brigade 
(who were doing the cursing) the memory of their 
own behavior at Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown 
should have had the effect of making them charita- 
ble towards the shortcomings of others. 

Let us allow the Colonel to continue: "From the 
time the charge began unto this moment, not a shot 
had been fired at us nor had we been able to see, be- 
cause of the density of the smoke, which hung over 
the battlefield like a pall, that there was an enemy in 
front of us. The smoke now lifted from our front 
and there, right before us, scarcely two hundred 
yards away, stood Cemetery Heights in awful 
grandeur. At their base was a double line of Federal 
infantry and several pieces of artillery, posted behind 
si one walls, and to the right and left of them both 
artillery and infantry supports were hurriedly com- 
ing up. The situation was indeed appalling, though 
it did no1 seem to appall. The idea of retreat did 
not st 'i »m to occur to any one. Having obtained a 
view of the enemy's position, the men now advanced at 
the double quick, and for the first time since the charge 
began they gave utterance to the famous Confeder- 
yell." 80 it seems that all that has been spoken 
and written about their having marched one thous- 
and yards under the fire of one hundred cannon and 
twenty thousand muskets, is the veriest bosh and 
nonsense. They marched eight hundred yards as 
safely as if on parade. When the smoke lifted they 
charged for two hundred yards towards the breast- 
works; the left only reached it — the right never did, 
but lay down in the field and there and then fifteen 
hundred of them ''threw down their muskets for the 
war.". Colonel Wood continues: "The batteries to 



36 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

the right and left of Cemetery Heights now began to 
rain grapeshot and canister upon us, and the en- 
emy's infantry at the base of the Heights, poured 
volley after volley into our ranks. The carnage was 
indeed terrible; but still the division, staggering and 
bleeding, pushed on towards the Heights they had 
been ordered to take. Of course such terrible slaugh- 
ter could not last long. The brave little division did 
not number men enough to make material for pro- 
longed slaughter." 

The carnage was for them indeed terrible, and their 
subsequent behaviour up to their defeat and rout at 
Five Forks, showed that they never forgot it. Let 
ns see what was this horrible carnage. The fifteen 
regiments, according to General Longstreet, carried 
into the charge, of officers and men, forty-nine hun- 
dred. It is more probable that the numberwas fifty- 
h've hundred. If they had the former number their 
percentage of killed and wounded was nearly twen- 
ty-eight, if the latter, not quite twenty-five. On the 
first day the North Carolina brigade lost thirty and 
on the third sixty per cent. The "brave, the mag- 
nificent." when they had experienced a loss of fifteen 
killed to the regiment, became sick of fighting, as the 
number surrendered shows. One regiment of the 
"cowards," the 42d Mississippi, only after it had met 
with a loss of sixty killed and a proportionate num- 
ber of wounded, concluded that it was about time to 
rejoin their friends. Another regiment of the "cow- 
ards," the 26th North Carolina, only after it had had 
more men killed and wounded than any one of the 
two thousand seven hundred Federal and Confederate 
regiments ever had, came to the same conclusion. 
The five North Carolina regiments of this division 
had five more men killed than Pickett's fifteen. 



Pickett oe Pettigrew? 37 

To continue: "In a few brief moments more the 
>f Armistead's brigade, led by himself on foot, 
had passed beyond the stone wall, and were among 
the guns of the enemy, posted in rear of it. General 
Garnet had before then been instantly killed, and 
General Kemper had been severely wounded, ^he 
survivors of their brigades had become amalga- 
mated with Armistead's." How can any one see any 
organization to boast of here? "Our line of battle 
was not parallel to the Heights, and the left of 
tlif diminished line reached the Heights first. 
The right of the line never reached them. The men 
of the right, however, were near enough to see Gen- 
eral Armistead shot down near a captured gun as he 
was waving his sword above his head, and they 
could see men surrendering themselves as prisoners. 
Just then a detachment of Federal infantry came 
out Hanking our right, and shouted to us to surren- 
der. There was nothing else to do, except to take 
the chance, which was an extremely good one, of be- 
ing killed on the retreat back over the hill. But a 
few, myself among the number, rightly concluded 
ilia t I he enemy was weary of carnage, determined to 
run the risk of getting back to the Confederate lines. 
Our retreat was made singly, and I at least was not 
fired upon." If the division had equalled Col. Wood 
in gallantry, it would not have surrendered more 
sound men than it had lost in killed and wounded, 
as by taking some risk the most of those captured 
might have escaped as hedid. The Colonel concludes : 
"When the retreat commenced on the night of the 
4th of July, the nearly three hundred men who had 
been confined in the various brigade guard houses 
were released from confinement, and they and their 
guard permitted to return to duty in the ranks, and 



38 Pickett oe Pettigrew? 

many detailed men were treated in the same way. 
On the morning of the 5th of July, the report of the 
division showed not quite eleven hundred present. 
Eleven hundred from forty-five hundred leaves thirty- 
four hundred, a'nd that was the number of casualties 
suffered by Pickett's little division at Gettysburg." I 
have known individuals who took pride in poverty and 
disease. The surrender of soldiers in battle was often 
unavoidable; but I have never known a body of 
troops other than Pickett's, who prided then) selves 
upon that misfortune. General Pemberton or Mar- 
shal Bazaine may have done so. If they did, their 
countrymen did not agree with them, and it is well 
for the fame of General Lee and his army that the 
belief that the road to honor lay in that direction, 
was not very prevalent. Pickett's division has been 
compared to a "lance-head of steel," which pierced 
the centre of the Federal army. To be in accord 
with the comparison, it was always represented as 
being smaller than it really was. 

Colonel Wood, at the conclusion of his article, puts 
its strength at 4,500 officers and men, at the begin- 
ning at 4,500 "men." This last would agree with 
General Longstreet's estimate of 4,900 effectives. 
Knowing as 1 do the average per brigade of Jack- 
son's Veterans — one-half of the army — and that they 
had been accustomed to fight two days for every one 
day fought by Longstreet's men, I think it proba- 
ble that Pickett's brigade must have averaged 
nearly, if not quite, two thousand. 

But I will place the strength of the division at fifty- 
five hundred. I have heard that fifteen hundred were 
surrendered. Official records say that thirteen hun- 
dred and sixty-four were killed and wounded. 

According to Colonel Wood, leaving out the three 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 39 

hundred guard-house men, eight hundred appeared for 
duty on the morning of the 5th. These three num- 
bers together make thirty-six hundred and sixty- 
four, which taken from fifty-five hundred leaves 
eighteen hundred and thirty-six, and this was the 
number of men which the "brave little division" had 
to run away. They ran and ran and kept running 
'till the high waters in the Potomac stopped them. 
As they ran they shouted "that they were all dead 
men, that Pettigrew had failed to support them, and 
that their noble division had been swept away." The 
outcry they made was soon heard all over Virginia, 
and its echo is still heard in the North. 

After our army had recrossed the river and had 
assembled at Bunker Hill, the report that Pickett's 
division of "dead men" had drawn more rations than 
any division ic the army, excited a good deal of 
good-natured laughter. Among the officers of our 
army, to whom the casualty lists were familiar, the 
question was often discussed, why it was that some of 
IVtt igrew's brigades, marching over the same ground 
at the same time, should have suffered so much more 
than General Pickett's? This question was never 
sal isfactorily answered 'till after the war. The mys- 
tery was then explained by the Federal General 
Doubleday, who made the statement that "all the 
artillery supporting Webb's brigade (which being on 
the right of Gibbons' division, held the projecting 
wall) excepting one piece, was destroyed, and nearly 
all of the artillerymen either killed or wounded by 
the cannonade which preceded the assault." 

Of course there were exceptions, but the general 

rule was Mint those troops who suffered the most 

mselves inflicted the greatest loss on. the enemy 

and were consequently the most efficient. Colonel 



40 Pickett ok Pettigrew? 

Fox says : "The history of a battle or war should be 
studied in connection with the figures which show 
the losses. By overlooking them, an indefinite and 
often erroneous idea is obtained. By overlooking 
them many historians fail to develop the important 
points of the contest: they use the same rhetorical 
descriptions for different attacks, whether the pres- 
sure was strong or weak, the loss great or small, the 
fight bloody or harmless.-' As it was the custom in 
some commands to report every scratch as a wound, 
and in others to report no man as wounded who was 
fit for duty, the most accurate test for courage and 
efficiency is the number of killed. In the eight 
brigades and three regiments from Virginia in this 
battle, three hundred and seventy-five were killed, 
and nineteen hundred and seventy-one wounded. 
That is for every one killed five and twenty-five hun- 
dredths were reported wounded. In the seven brig- 
ades and three regiments from North Carolina, six 
hundred and ninety-six were killed and three thous- 
and and fifty-four wounded. That is for every man 
killed only four and forty hundredths appeared on 
the list as wounded. 

If it be a fact that from Gettysburg to the close of 
the war, among the dead upon the various battle- 
fields comparatively few representatives from the 
Virginian infantry were to be found, it is not always 
necessarily to their discredit. For instance, even at 
Gettysburg two such brigades as Mahone's and 
Smyth's had respectively only seven and fourteen 
men killed. It was not for them to say whether they 
were to advance or be held back. Their duty was to 
obey orders. In the same battle two of Rodes' North 
Carolina brigades— Daniels' and Iverson's — had be- 
tween them two hundred and forty-six men buried 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 41 

upon the field. Here we see that the eight regiments 
and one battalion, which formed these two North 
Carolina commands, had twenty-two more men killed 
than Pickett's fifteen. And yet Virginia history does 
not know that they were even present at this battle. 

Now, for a brief recapitulation. The left of Gar- 
nett's and Armistead's brigades, all of Archer's and 
Scales' (but that all means very few, neither of them 
at the start being larger than a full regiment) a few 
of the STth and the right of Pettigrew's own brigade 
took possession of the works, which the enemy had 
abandoned on their approach. Pettigrew's and 
Trimble's left and Pickett's right lay out in the field 
on each Hank of the projecting work and in front of 
the receding wall, and from forty to fifty yards from 
it. There they remained for a few minutes, 'till a 
fresh line of the enemy, which had been lying beyond 
the crest of the ridge, approached. Then being- 
attacked on both flanks, and knowing how disor- 
ganized they were, our men made no fight, but 
either retreated or surrendered. Archer's, Scales' and 
Pettigrew's own brigade went as far and sta3 T ed as 
long or longer than any of Pickett's. Davis' brigade, 
while charging impetuously ahead of the line was 
driven back, when it had reached a point about one 
hundred yards from the enemy. Lane's, the left brig- 
ade, remained a few moments longer than any of the 
other troops and retired in better order. 

Now, it must not be inferred from anything in this 
paper that there has been any intention to reflect 
upon all Virginia infantry. Far from it. The three 
regiments in Steuart's mixed brigade and Mahone's 
brigade were good troops. Perhaps there were oth- 
ers equally good. But there was one brigade which 
was their superior, as it was the superior of most of 



42 



Pickett or Pettigkew? 



the troops in General Lee's array. And that was". 
Smith's brigade of Early's division. These troops 
in npite of the Richmond newspapers and the partial- 
ity of certain of their commanders, had no superiors 
in any army. Never unduly elated by prosperity, 
never depressed by adversity, they were even to the 
last, when enthusiasm had entirely fled and hope was 
almost dead, the models of what good soldiers 
should be. 

"It is not precisely those who know how to kill," 

says Dragomiroff, "but those who 

death's know how to die, who are all-powerful 

the test, on a field of battle." 

Regiments that had twenty-nine or 
more officers and men killed on the field in certain 
battles : 



Regiment. 


Brigade. 


Battle. 


Killed. 


13 Ga. 


Lawton. 


Sharpsburg. 


48. 


3N. C. 


Ripley. 


it 


46. 


1 Texas. 


Wofford. 


(C 


45. 


13 N. C. 


Garland. 


u 


41. 


30 Va. 


Walker. 


ii 


39. 


48 N. C. 


(< 


a 


31. 


27 " 


it 


a 


31. 


50 Ga. 


Drayton. 


a 


29. 


57 N. C. 


Law. 


Fredericksburg. 


32. 


2 " 


Ramseur. 


Chancellorsville. 


47. 


4 " 


a 


n 


45. 


3 " 


Colston. 


a 


38. 


7 " 


Lane. 


tt 


37. 


1 " 


Colston. 


u 


34. 


37 " 


Lane. 


tt 


34. 


23 " 


Iverson. 


a 


32. 


13 " 


Pender. 


tt 


31. 


22 " 


a 


u 


30. 


51 Ga. 


tSemmes. 


it 


30. 


4 " 


Doles. 


a 


29. 


18 N. C. 


Lane. 


a 


30. 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 43 

Regiment. Brigade. Battle. Killed. 

26 N. C. Pettigrew. Gettysburg. 86. 

42 Miss. Davis. " 60. 

11 N. C. Pettigrew. " 50. 

2 Miss. Davis. " 49. 

45 N. C. Daniel. u 46. 

28 " Iverson. " 41. 

17 Miss. Barksdale. " 40. 

55 N. C. Davis. " 39. 

59 Va Armistead. " 35. 

52 N. C. Pettigrew. " 33. 

11 Ga. Anderson. " 32. 

5N. C. Iverson. " 31. 

13 S. C. Pefrin. " 31. 

13 N. C. Scales. " 29. 

2 " Batt. Daniel. " 29. 

3 " Steuart. " 29. 
20 " Iverson. " 29. 

The proportion of wounded to killed was 4.8 to 
one. That is, if 100 are killed 480 will be wounded. 
When 100 men are killed, there will be among the 
wounded 64 who will die of wounds. While this may 
not always be the case in a single regiment, yet when 
a number of regiments are taken together the wonder- 
ful law of averages makes these proportions rules 
about which there is no varying. 

There is an old saw which says that "it takes a 
soldier's weight in lead and iron to kill him." Most 
people believe that this saying has to be taken with 
many grains of allowance, but it was shown during 
the war to be literally true. In the battle of Mur- 
freesboro the weight of the 20,307 projectiles fired by 
the Federal artillery was 225,000 pounds, and that 
of the something over 2.000,000 musket balls exceed- 
ed 150,000 pounds and their combined weight ex- 
ceeded that of the 2,319 Confederates who were killed 
or mortally wounded. 



44 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

In the Federal armies deaths from wounds amount- 
ed to 110,000 and from disease and all other causes 
about 250,000, a total of about 360,000. For 
deaths in the Southern armies only an approxima- 
tion can be arrived at. Probably 100,000 died of 
wounds and as many more of disease, a total of 
about 200,000 which added to the Federal loss, 
makes about 560,000. This number of soldiers 
drawn up in battle array would make a line 112 
miles long. 
With singular inappropriateness this brigade and 

several other Federal organi- 

webb's Philadelphia zations have erected monu- 

brigade ments to commemorate their 

and other troops, gallantry upon the third da y's 

battlefield. It would appear 
that they should have been erected on the spot where 
their gallantry was displayed. It does not require 
much courage to lie behind breastworks and shoot 
dow r n an enemy in an open field and then to run away, 
as it and the other troops in its vicinity did, when that 
enemy continued to approach. But, while it does 
not add to their fame, it is not to their discredit that 
they did give way. For however much discipline and 
inherent qualities may extend it, there is a limit to 
human endurance, and they had suffered severely, 
Webb's brigade in three days having lost forty-nine 
per cent. If there ever have been troops serving in a 
long war who never on any occasion gave way till 
they had lost as heavily, they were the superiors of 
any in Napoleon's or Wellington's armies. The loss 
in the British infantry at Salamanca was only twelve 
per cent. That of the "Light Brigade" at Balaklava 
was only thirty-seven. That of Pickett's only twenty- 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 45 

eight, and they were ruined forever. It is true that 
the North Carolina and Mississippi brigades of Heth's 
division lost in the first day's battle about thirty and 
on the third at least sixty per cent., and this without 
having their morale seriously impaired, but then 
both of these organizations were composed of excep- 
tionally fine troops. 
This division was composed of Archer's Tennessee 

and Alabama regiments, Pettigrew's 

heth's North Carolina, Davis' Mississippi and 

division. Broekenborough's Virginia brigades. 

Counting from right to left, Archer 
joining Pickett's left, this was the order in which 
they were formed for the third day's assault. Soon 
after the order to advance was given the left brigade 
gave way. The others advanced and did all that 
flesh and blood eould do. Gen. Hooker, who has 
written the Confederate military history for the 
Mississippi troops, quotes from Dr. Ward, a surgeon 
who witnessed the assault, who says that the fire of 
Cemetery Mill, having been concentrated upon Heth's 
division, he saw no reason why North Carolina, 
Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama troops should 
not participate in whatever honors that were won on 
that day; for, says he, all soldiers know that the 
number killed is the one and only test for pluck and 
endurance. Gen. Hooker then states, "The brigades 
in the army which lost most heavily in killed and 
wounded at Gettysburg, was (1) Pettigrew's North 
Carolina, (2) Davis' Mississippi and North Carolina, 
(3) Daniels' North Carolina and (4) Barksdale's 
Mississippi." These four had an average of 837 kill- 
ed and wounded. Pickett's three brigades had an 
average of 455. 



46 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

Some have contended that the number of deaths 
and wounds is the test for endurance, 
per centages. others that the per centage is the 
true test. It may be that neither 
the one nor the other alone, but that rather both to- 
gether should be taken into account. The same per 
centage in a large regiment should count for more 
than that in a small one. For while only one Con- 
federate brigade is reported to have reached as high 
as 63 percent., the regiment, the smaller organiza- 
tions, more frequently attained that rate. Thirteen 
are known and several others are supposed to have 
reached it. And as to the company, there was hard- 
ly a hard fought battle in which at leas*" one did not 
have nearly every man killed or wounded. The 
writer knows of four in as many North Carolina regi- 
ments which in one battle were almost destroyed. 
In three of these the per centage went from eighty- 
seven to ninety eight, and the fourth had every offi- 
cer and man struck. Taking Colonel Fox's tables 
for authority, we find that of the thirty-four regi- 
ments standing highest on the per centage list six 
were from North Carolina, and these six carried into 
battle two thousand nine hundred and nine; only 
two of the thirty-four were from Virginia, and their 
"present" was fifty-five for one and one hundred and 
twenty-eight for the other. Tennessee, leading the 
list in number, has seven, Georgia and Alabama each 
has six. The two States, whose soldiers Virginia his- 
torians with a show of generosity were in the habit 
of so frequently complimenting, Texas and Louisiana, 
make rather a poor show — the former has only one reg- 
iment on the list and the other does not appear at all. 

The 26th North Carolina had 820 officers and men 
at Gettysburg, and their per centage of killed and 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 47 

wounded was exceeded by that of only two Confeder- 
ate and three Federal regiments during- the whote 
war, and those five were all small, ranging from cme 
hundred and sixty-eight to two hundred and sixty- 
eight. As Senator Vance's old regiment unquestion- 
ably stands head on the numerical list, so should it, 
in the opinion of the writer, stand on that of per 
centages. As, for reasons not necessary to mention 
here, this list relates almost entirely to the early bat- 
tles of the war, it is not as satisfactory as it might 
be. Though North Carolina should head the list in 
the greatest per centage in any one regiment, it does 
not in the number of regiments. Early in the war, 
when it was generally believed that peace would 
come before glory enough to go round had been ob- 
tained, the North Carolina troops were, to a certain 
extent, held back. For this reason, however flatter- 
ing to our State pride, Colonel Fox's table is, as it 
stands, it would have been vastly more so had it 
covered the whole war, especially the last year, when 
the fortunes of the Confederacy, were held up by the 
bright bayonets of the soldiers from the old North 

otatC "Carolina, Carolina, Heaven's blessings attend her !" • 

We see in field returns for February and March, 

18G5, that Pickett's division was 

"a poor thing, the largest in the army. There 

but mine own." is nothing remarkable about this 

fact, for they were not engaged 

in the bloody repulse at Bristoe Station, were not 

, present at the Wilderness, were not present at Spott- 

sylvania, and did not serve in those horrible trenches 

at Petersburg. In the same report we see that their 

aggregate, present and absent, was 9,487. It may 

be that since the world was made there has been a 

body of troops with 9,000 names on their muster 



48 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

rolls, who, serving in a long and bloody war, inflicted 
scu little loss upon their enemy or suffered so little 
tliemselves. It may be, but it is not probable. With 
one exception no division surrendered so few men at 
Appomattox. 

Col. Dodge, of Boston, in his history speaks of the 
commander of this division as "the Ney of Lee's 
army." If satire is intended it is uncalled for as the 
Virginian never inflicted any loss upon the enemy 
worth mentioning; certainly not enough to cause 
any Yankee to owe him a grudge. 

This brigade was composed of the 2nd, 11th and 

42nd Mississippi and 55th North Caroli- 

d avis' na. The two first were veteran. They 

brigade, had fought often and always well. The 
42nd Mississippi and 55th North Caro- 
lina were full regiments, Gettysburg being their 
first battle of importance. The two first named 
served in Law's brigade of Hood's division at Sharps- 
burg or Antietam, where they greatly distinguished 
themselves, as they had before at First Manassas 
and Gain's Mill. The 11th Mississippi was the only 
fresh* regiment outside of Pickett's division that took 
part in the assault of July 3rd, so all of its loss oc- 
curred on that day, that loss being 202 killed and 
wounded. The number the3 T carried in is variously 
stated at from 300 to 350. If the one, the per cent- 
age of their loss was 67, if the other, 57. 

This famous division, consisting of two North Caro- 
lina, one Georgia and one South Caro- 

pender's lina brigade, was first commanded by 

division. Lieutenant General A. P. Hill (who was 
killed just at the close of the w T ar), after 
his promotion by Pender, who was killed at Gettys- 
burg, and afterwards by Wilcox. 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 49 

At this time this division consisted of three North 
Carolina, one Georgia and one Alabama 
rodes' brigade. It was first commanded by 
division. Lieutenant-General D. H. Hill, who was 
promoted and transferred to the West. 
Then by Rodes, who was killed at Winchester, then 
by Grimes, who was assassinated just after the war. 
Just after Gettysburg, Gen Lee told Gen. Rodes that 
his division Imd accomplished more in this battle 
than any other in his army. The record this body 
made in the campaign of 18 64 has never been equalled. 
It had more men killed and wounded than it ever 
carried into any one action. The records show this. 
This division was composed for the most part of 
Virginians. It had only two North Car- 
johnson's olina regiments, the 1st and 3rd. Dur- 
ni vision ing the Mine Run campaign General 
Ewell and General Johnson were togeth- 
er when a Federal battery opened tire upon the divis- 
ion and became very annoying. What did these 
Virginia Generals do about it? "Only this and noth- 
ing more." The corps commander quietly remarked 
to the division commander: "Why don't you send 
your North Carolina regiments after that battery 
and bring it in ?" At once these regiments were select- 
ed from the line, and were forming to make a charge, 
when the battery was withdrawn. 
The seven Confederate regiments, which had most 

men killed in any battle 
what the troops from of the war, were the 6th 
the different status Alabama, ninety-one 
considered bloody work, killed ; 26th North Caro- 
lina, eighty-six; 1st 
South Carolina Rifles, eighty-one; 4th North Caroli- 
na, seventy-seven ; 44th Georgia, seventy-one; 14th 



50 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

Alabama, seventy-one; and 20th North Carolina, 
seventy. Pickett's "veterans" must have thought 
that to have nine or ten men to the regiment killed, 
was an evidence of severe fighting, for the most of 
them think even to this day, that to have had near- 
ly fifteen to the regiment killed at Gett3 r sburg was a 
carnage so appalling as to amount to butchery. 

This brigade consisted of the 5th, 12th, 20th and 
23rd North Carolina. iUwas first com- 

iverson's manded by Garland, who was killed in 

brigade, the Maryland campaign, then by Iver- 
son, then by Bob Johnson, then by 
Toon. The 20th was a fine regiment. At a very crit- 
ical time at Gain's Mill, it captured a battery. It is 
on Colonel Fox's list as having had on that occasion 
seventy killed and two-hundred and two wounded. 
Equally good was the 12th. That brilliant and la- 
mented young officer, General R. E. Rodes, once made 
a little speech to this regiment in which he said that 
alter Gettysburg General Lee had told him that his 
division had accomplished more in that battle than 
any division in his armj 7 , and that he himself would 
say that the 12th North Carolina was the best regi- 
ment in his division. Only last week, while visiting 
a neigboring town, I saw a bald headed old fellow, 
who was Color Sergeant of this regiment at Chancel- 
lorsville. It was charging a battery when its its 
commander, Major Rowe, was killed and for a mo- 
ment it faltered. Just then it was that Sergeant 
Whitehead rushed to the front with the exclamation : 
"Come on 12th, I'm going to ram this flag down one 
of them guns." The regiment answered with a yell, 
took the battery and held it. 

In the seven da3 T s' battle this regiment had 51 men 
killed on the field. It suffered most at Malvern Hill, 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 51 

where private Tom Emry of this county was compli- 
mented in orders and promoted for gallantry. 

General Hancock having witnessed a very gallant, 
but unsuccessful charge of the 5th N. C. at Williams- 
burg, complimented it in the highest terms. Lieu- 
tenant Tom Snow of this county — a Chapel Hill boy 
— was killed on this occasion and his body was deliv- 
ered to his friends by the Federals. 

With such Colonels as Chirstie, Blacknall and Davis, 
— the first two dying of wounds — the 23rd could not 
fail in always being an "A No. 1." regiment. This 
brigade at Gettysbury had one hundred and eleven 
killed, and three hundred and forty -four wounded 

In the fall of 1864 near Winchester, General Brad- 
ley Johnston of Maryland was a witness of the con- 
duct of this brigade under very trying circumstances, 
and he has recently written a very entertaining ac- 
count of what he saw, and in it he is very enthusias- 
tic in his praise of their courage and discipline, com- 
paring them to Sir Colin Campbell's ''Thin Red Line" 
at Balaklava. 

This brigade consisted of the 32nd, 43rd, 45th, 53rd 
and 2nd battalion, all from North Caro- 

daniels' Una. It was first commanded by Dan- 

brigade. iels, who was killed at Spottsylvania. 
Then by Grimes and after his promo- 
tion by Colonels, several of whom were killed. To 
say that this brigade accomplished more in the first 
day's battle than an3 T other, is no reflection upon the 
other gallant brigades of Rode's division. General 
Doubleday, who, after the fall of General Reynolds, 
succeeded to the command of the First Corps, sa3 7 s 
that Stone's Pennsylvania brigade held the key- 
point of this day's battle. These Pennsylvanians, 
occupying a commanding position, were supported 



52 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

by other regiments of infantry and two batteries of 
artillery. Daniels' right, Brabble's 32nd North Car- 
olina leading, had the opportunity given it to carry 
this "key-point" by assault, and gloriously did it 
take advantage of that opportunity. No troops ever 
fought better than did this entire brigade, and its- 
killed and wounded was greater by far than any 
brigade in its corps. The 45th and 2nd battalion 
met with the greatest loss, the former having 219 
killed and wounded, the latter 153 out of 240, which 
was nearly 64 per cent. When, on the morning of 
the 12th of May at Spottsylvania, Hancock's corps 
ran over Johnson's division, capturing or scattering 
the whole command, this fine brigade and Ramseur's 
North Carolina, and Bob Johnston's North Carolina, 
by their promptness and intrepidity, checked the en- 
tire Second corps and alone held it 'till Lane's North 
Carolina, Harris' Mississippi and other troops could 
be brought up. 

This famous brigade consisted of the 2nd, 4th, 14th 

and 30th North Carolina. It was first 

ramseur's commanded by General Geo. B. Ander- 

brigade. son, w T ho was killed at Sharpsburg. 
Then by Ramseur, who was promoted 
and killed at Cedar Creek. Then by Cox. The fond- 
ness of this brigade for prayer meeting and Psalm 
singing united with an ever readiness to fight, re- 
minds one of Cromwell's Ironsides. It fought well 
at Seven Pines when one of its regiments, having car- 
ried in six hundered and seventy-eight officers and 
men, lost fifty-four per cent, in killed and wounded. 
At Malvern Hill it met with great loss. It occupied 
the bloody lane at Sharpsburg. At Chancellorsville 
out of fifteen hundred and nine, it had one hundred 
and fifty -four killed and five hundred and twenty-six 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 53 

wounded, or forty-five per cent, On the 12th of May 
at Spottsylvania it acted probably the most dis- 
tinguished part of any brigade in the army. It did 
the last fighting at Appomattox, and about twenty- 
rive men of the 14th, under Captain W. T. Jenkins, 
of Halifax county, fired the last shots. To see these 
poor devils, many of them almost barefooted and all 
of them half starved, approach a field where a battle 
was raging was a pleasant sight. The crack of Na- 
poleons, the roar of Howitzers and crash of musket- 
ry always excited and exhilerated them, and as they 
swung into action they seemed supremely happy. 
Lane's brigade consisted of the 7th. 18th, 28th, 

33rd and 37th North Carolina. It was 

lane's first commanded by General L. 0. B. 

brigade. Branch, who was killed at Sharpsburg. 

The 7th and 18th appear upon Colonel 
Fox's per centage table, both having in the seven 
days' fight lost 56 per cent. The numerical loss for 
the brigade was 807. At Chancellorsville it had 739 
killed and wounded. In the history of this battle by 
Col. Hamlin, of Maine, the conduct of this brigade is 
spoken of very highly. In Longstreet's assault as it 
moved over the field the two wings of its right regi- 
ment parted company, and at the close of the as- 
sault were several hundred yards apart. The point 
of direction for the assaulting column was a small 
cluster of trees opposite to and in front of Archer's 
brigade, and while the rest of the line dressed on this 
brigade, by some misunderstanding, four and a half 
regiments of Lane's dressed to the left. It went some 
distance beyond the Emmittsburg road, but fell back 
bo that road, where it remained fighting 'till all the 
rest of the line had given way, when it was with- 
drawn by General Trimble. 



54 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

Some time ago a Union veteran in a St. Louis 
paper gave an account of what came under his ob- 
servation at Spottsylvania. His command had been 
repulsed and was being driven by Lane's brigade, 
when he was shot down. As the victorious line swept 
by a Confederate was struck, falling near him. The 
conduct of a young officer, whose face was radiant 
with the joy of battle, had attracted his attention, 
and he asked his wounded neighbor who he was. His 
reply was, "That's Capt. Billy McLaurin, of the 18th 
North Carolina, the bravest man in Lee's army." 

This superb brigade consisted of three regiments 
from Tennessee, one regiment and one 

archer's battalion from Alabama. It suffered 

brigade, very severely the first day ; on the third 
it was gallantly led hx Colonel Frye, 
who says, referring to the close of the assault: "I 
heard Garnett give a command. Seeing my gesture 
of inquiry he called out, T am dressing on you.' A 
few seconds later he fell dead. A moment later a shot 
through my thigh prostrated me. The smoke soon 
became so dense that I could see but little of what 
was going on before me. A moment later I heard 
General Pettigrew calling to rally them on the left 
(referring to a brigade which had just given way). 
All of the five regimental colors of my command 
reached the line of the enemy's works, and many of 
my officers and men were killed after passing over it." 
Colonel Shepherd, who succeeded Colonel Frye in 
command, said in his official report that every flag 
in Archer's brigade, except one, was captured at or 
within the works of the enemy. This brigade and 
Pettigrew's were awarded the honor of serving as a 
rear guard when the army re-crossed the river. 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 55 

Two of General Early's brigades made a very bril- 
liant charge on the second day: but 
hoke's being unsupported were forced to fall 

brigade, back. They were Hoke's North Caroli- 
na, commanded by Colonel Avery, who 
was killed, and Hayes' Louisiana. They did equally 
well in every respect, yet one is always praised, the 
other rarely mentioned. Hoke's brigade consisted 
of the 6th, 21st, 54th and 57th. First commanded 
by Moke, after his promotion by Godwin, who was 
killed in the Valley, and then by Gaston Lewis. 

The 54th was on detached duty and did not take 
part in this battle. Mr. Vandersliee, in his fine de- 
scription of this affair, does full justice to our North 
Carolina boys, and closes 1>3 T sa3*ing: "It will be 
noted that while this assault is called that of the 
'Louisiana Tigers,' the three North Carolina regi- 
ments lost more men than the five Louisiana regi- 
ments." 

From a book recently published, entitled, "Pickett 

and His Men," the following 
pay your money and paragraph is taken : "Petti- 

take your choice. grew was trying to reach the 

post of death and honor, but 
he was far away and valor could not annihilate space. 
His troops had suffered cruelly in the battle the day 
before and their commander had been wounded. 
They were now led by an officer ardent and brave, 
but to them unknown." 

Col. Carswell McClellan, who was an officer of Gen. 
Humphreys' staff, comparing the assault made by 
this General at Fredericksburg with that which is 
known as Pickett's, says: "As the bugle sounded 
the 'charge,' Gen. Humphreys turned to his staff, 
and bowing with uncovered head, remarked as quiet- 



50 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

ly and as pleasantly as if inviting- them to be seated 
around his table, 'Gentlemen, I shall lead this charge. 
I presume, of course, you will wish to ride with me.' ' 
Now, compare that to Pickett, who was not within a 
mile of his column when they charged at Gettysburg 
— Pettigrew and Armistead led Pickett's division 
there. Of this grand assault of Humphreys I can do 
no better than quote Gen. Hooker's report: "This 
attack was made with a spirit and determination 
seldom, if ever, equalled in war. Seven of Gen. Hum- 
phreys' staff officers started with the charge, five 
were dismounted before reaching the line where Gen. 
Couch's troops were lying, and four were wounded 
before the assault ceased." 

But as he spoke Pickett, at the head of his di- 
vision, rode over the crest of Seminary 
the school Ridge and began his descent down the 
girl's hero, slope. "As he passed me," writes 
Longstreet, "he rode gracefully, with 
his jaunty cap racked well over his right ear and his 
long auburn locks, nicely dressed, hanging almost 
to his shoulders. He seemed a holiday soldier." 
Echo repeats the words : A holiday soldier ! A holi- 
day soldier! 

Even Gen. Lee was unfair to our troops, and Gen. 
Long, his biographer, in more than one 
there now ! place misapprehended the facts. In re- 
ply to a letter from this writer lie 
promised to make a correction if a second edition of 
his large and interesting biography was called for. 

We refer to the third day at Gettysburg so soon 
again because of a letter that reached us on Monday 
postmarked "Charleston, S. C, April 9." It comes 
from a soldier who did not belong to either Petti- 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 57 

grew's or Pickett's command. He writes, and he is 
clearly a man of education and fairness : 

'"1 am glad to see you are taking up the claim of 
Pettigrew's brigade to share in the glory of Gettys- 
1 > u i g. W3 ly not go a little further? Pettigrew led his 
division. Pickett did not. Pettigrew was wounded, 
and no member of his staff came out of the fight with- 
out being wounded or having his horse shot under 
him. Neither Pickett nor any member of his staff 
nor even one of the horses was touched. Why? Be- 
cause dismounted and on the farther side of a hill 
that protected them from the enemy's fire." There 
is in this city a letter from a distinguished, able, 
scholarly Virginian that states that General Pickett 
was not in the charge at all. There now! The cor- 
respondent adds: ''Investigate the statement, and 
if correct, this will help to make history somewhat 
truthful." He gives excellent authority — a gallant 
citizen of Savannah, Ga., who was in the battle and 
of whom we have known Tor more than thirty-three 
years. Let the whole truth come out as to the splen- 
did charge on the third day, who participated in and 
who went farthest in and close to the enemy. — Wil- 
mington Messenger. 

The following extract is taken from a magazine ar- 
ticle written by Mr. J. F. 
gov. kemper killed Rhodes in 1899 : 

in battle "Then the union guns re- 

Axi) other matters, opened. When near enough 

canister shot was added, 'the 
slaughter was terrible.' The Confederate artillery 
re-opened over the heads of the charging column try- 
ing to divert the fire of the union cannon, but it did 
not change the aim of the batteries from the charg- 
ing column. When near enough the Federal infantry 



58 Pickett or Pettigbew? 

opened, but on swept the devoted division. Near the 
Federal lines Pickett made a pause 'to close ranks 
and mass for a final plunge.' Armistead leaped the 
stone wall and cried, 'Give them the cold steel, boys/ 
laid his hand on a Federal gun, and the next moment 
was killed. At the same time Garnett and Kemper, 
Pickett's other brigadiers, were killed. Hill's corps 
wavered, broke ranks and fell back. 'The Federals 
swarmed around Pickett,' writes Longstreet, 'attack- 
ing on all sides, enveloped and broke up his com- 
mand. The j drove the fragments back upon our 
lines. Pickett gave the word to retreat.' " 

To give a clear idea of the closing events of this as- 
sault it will be well to mention several things not 
generally known. Just at the point which had been 
occupied, but was then abandoned by Webb's brig- 
ade, there was no stonewall, but a breastwork made 
of rails covered with a little earth. Those works 
jutted out into the field. On both sides of this salient 
there were stone walls. Of the one thousand men 
who reached these works of rails and earth only about 
fifty followed Armistead to the abandoned guns. 
The others stopped there. Seeing this all to their 
right, more than half the column did the same, and 
having stopped they were obliged to lie down. The 
left of the line continued to move on for a while when 
they, to prevent annihilation, also fell to the ground. 
This discontinuance of the forward movement, show- 
ing that the momentum of the charge had spent it- 
self, meant defeat. Our men knew this, but there 
they lay waiting for — they knew not what. All other 
things that happened — the capture of men, muskets 
and flags — were for the Federals mere details in reap- 
ing the harvest of victory. 



Pickett ok Pettigrew? 59 

Leaving out Lane's brigade, which lay far over to 

the left in the Emmittsburg 

safe surrenderor road, our line, which was so 

dangerous ketreat? imposing at the beginning of 

the assault, covered the front 
of only two Federal brigades at its close. Into the 
interval between Lane's and Pettigrew's troops Xew 
Yorkers were sent, who attacked the left of the lat- 
ter's own brigade. About the same time Vermonters 
moved up and fired several volleys into Pickett's 
right. Which body of these flankers first made their 
attack lias been a subject of some dispute, but it is a 
matter of no importance. Neither attack was made 
before Armistead was wounded. But there is a mat- 
ter of very great importance, and that is to correctly 
decide which of the two contrary lines of action taken 
that day is the more honorable and soldier-like. 
Here were troops lying out in the open field, all of 
them knowing that they had met with a frightful 
defeat. Those on the left, seeing a move on the part 
of the enemy to effect their capture, though tit a duty 
they owed themselves, their army and their country 
to risk their iives in an effort to escape. Actingupon 
this thought they went to the rear with a rush,helter 
skelter, devil take the hindmost, and the most of 
them did escape. Those on the right when ordered 
to surrender did so almost to a man. The North. 
Carolinians, Alabamians and Tennesseeans upon the 
field felt that to surrender when there was a reasona- 
ble hope of escape was very little better than cleser- 
1 [( m. If the opinions of the Virginians were not quite 
;is extreme as this, they certainly would have been 
surprised at that time had they been told that their 
conduct was heroic. Since then maudlin sentiment- 
alists have so often informed them it was that now 



GO Pickett or Pettigrbw? 

they believe it. The time may come when history 
will call their surrender by its rig-lit name. 
The late Gen. James Dearing, of Virginia, at the 
time of the battle an artillery major, 
stragglers, witnessed the assault, and shortly af- 
terwards, giving a description of it to a 
friend of the writer, mentioned a circumstance which 
partly accounts for the fact that all of Pickett's 
troops were not captured. It was that from the very 
start individuals began to drop out of ranks, and 
that the number of these stragglers continued to in- 
crease as the line advanced, and that before a shot 
had ever been tired at them it amounted to many 
hundreds. This conduct on the part of so many must 
be taken into consideration in accounting for the 
shortness of our line at the close of the assault ; also 
that the troops both to the right and left dressing 
upon Archer's brigade there was in consequence much 
crowding towards the centre. By adding to these 
causes the deaths and wounds the explanation of a 
condition which has puzzled many writers is readily 
seen. 
General Longstreet is supposed to have always 
thought that after the second of 
"the post of Pettigrew's brigades gave way 
death and honor." there we^e none of HuTs troops 

left upon the field. This Gener- 
al, while honest, was so largely imaginative that his 
statement of facts is rarely worthy of credence. He 
says that "Pickett gave the word to retreat." There 
are very many old soldiers, many even in Richmond, 
who do not believe that Pickett was there to give 
that word. That in the beautiful language of a re- 
cent writer, "He may have been trying to reach the 



Pickett or Pettigrew? Gl 

post of death and honor, but he was far away, and 
valor could not annihilate space." 

Gen. Long-street is reported recently to have said 
at Gettysburg that if Gen. Meade 
JUDGING others had advanced his whole line on 
BY ourselves. July 4th he would have carried 
everything before him. It is hardly 
fair for Gen. Long-street to do so, but he is evidently 
judging the army by his troops, some of whom are 
said to have been so nervous and shaky after this 
battle that the crack of a teamster's whip would 
startle them. He is mistaken, for it must be remem- 
bered that rhe enemy was about as badly battered 
as we were, and that the troops composing EwelFs 
and Hill's corps had beaten this enemy only two 
months before when it was on the defensive. Now we 
would have been on the defensive; is it probable that 
Ave would have been beaten? 

This brigade was composed of the 11th, 26th, 47th, 

52nd and 44th North Carolina. When 

pettigrew's the army went on the Gettysburg cam- 

brigade. paign the last named regiment was left 
in Virginia. That this brigade had 
more men killed and wounded at Gettysburg than 
any brigade in our army ever had in any battle is 
not so much to its credit as is the fact that after such 
appalling losses it was one of the two brigades se- 
lected for the rear guard when the army re-crossed 
the river. At Gettysburg Capt. Tuttle's company of 
tie- 26th regiment went into the battle with three 
officers and eighty-four men. All the officers and 
eighty-three of the men were killed or wounded. In 
Gin same battle company C. of the 11th regiment, 
had two officers killed (First Lieut. Tom Cooper, a 
University boy, was one of them) and thirty -four out 



G2 Pickett or Pettigeew? 

of the thirty-eight men killed or wounded. Capt. 
Bird with the four remaining men participated in the 
assault of the third day, and of them the flag- hearer 
was shot and the captain brought out the colors 
himself. He was made major, and was afterwards 
killed at Reams Station. Bertie county should raise 
a monument to his memory. In the assault Col. 
Marshall, of the 52nd, commanded this brigade 'till 
he was killed. At the close of the battle Maj. Jones, 
of the 2(3th, was the only field officer who had not 
been struck, and he was subsequently killed at- the 
Wilderness. 
With the exception of South Carolina probably no 

State in the Confederacy had so few 
desertion, soldiers "absent without leave' ' as 

North Carolina. Owing to unfortunate 
surroundings neither the head of the army nor the 
administration ever realized this fact. The same 
harshness that forced thousands of conscripts into 
the army who were unfit for service, and kept them 
thereuntil death in the hospital released them, caused 
more soldiers from North Carolina (some of whom 
had shed their blood in defence of the South) to be 
shot for this so-called desertion than from any other 
State. Though the military population of the Tar 
Heel State was not as great as that of at least two of 
the others, her soldiers filled twice as manj^ graves, 
and at Appomattox, Va., and Greensboro, N.C., surren- 
dered twice as many muskets as those of any other 
State. There was a singular met in connection with 
these so-called desertions. In summer, when there 
was fighting or the expectation of a fight, they never 
occurred. Only in winter, when the men had time to 
think of their families, hundreds of whom were suffer- 
ing for the necessaries of life, did the longing desire 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 63 

to see them and minister to their wants overcome 
.'very other sentiment, and dozens of them would 
steal away. 

Wonder and surprise must be felt by any intelligent 
officer of any of the European armies 
undeserved who rides over that part of the lines 
contempt, held by the army of the Potomac 
which was assaulted on the afternoon 
of July 3rd, 1863. Wonder that sixty or seventy 
thousand men occupying the commanding position 
• did and supported by hundreds of cannonshould 
have felt so much pride in having defeated a column 
of less than ten thousand. For had their only weap- 
ons been brick-bats they should have done so. Sur- 
prise that Gen. Lee should have had so supreme a 
contempt for the Federal army as to have thought 
for a moment that by any sort of possibility the at- 
tack could be successful. 

No longer ago than last August a New York maga- 
zine contained an elaborately 
a leaf of illustrated article descriptive of 

northern historv. the Gettysburg battlefield. As 

long as the writer confines him- 
self to natural scenery he acquits himself very credit- 
ably, but when he attempts to describe events which 
occurred there so many years ago he flounders fear- 
fully. Of course Pickett's men advance ''alone." Of 
course there is a terriffc hand-to-hand battle at what 
he calls the "bloody angle." In this battle he says 
thai many of Doubleday's troops lost from twenty- 
five to forty per cent. "The slaughter of the Confed- 
erates was fearful — nearly one half of them were left 
upon the field, Garnett's brigade alone having over 
three thousand killed and captured." This is North- 
ern historv. 



64 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

Now for facts: Pickett's men did not advance 
''alone.'' There was no terrific battle inside the ene- 
my's works. None of Donbleda.y's troops lost there 
from twenty-five to forty per cent. There was not 
one regiment in Gibbons' or Doubleday\s commands 
which, after the shelling', lost one-fourth of one per 
cent. As to Garnett's brigade, as it carried in only 
two thousand or less and brought out a considerable 
fragment, it could hardly have had over three thous- 
and killed and captured. It did have seventy -eight 
killed and three hundred and twenty-four wounded. 

Gen. Doubleday in writing to ask permission to 
make use of the pamphlet in a history he was then 
preparing, suggested only one alteration, and that 
w r as in regard to Stannard's Vermont brigade, which 
had fought only the day before, and not the two 
days as the pamphlet had it. 

On the retreat Kilpatrick attacked our ambulance 

trj lin and c a p t u r e d m a n y 

union sentiment in wounded officers of Ewell's 

north Carolina. corps. Among them was one 

from my brigade who, when in 
hospital, was asked by a Federal surgeon if the well- 
known Union sentiment in North Carolina had any- 
thing to do with the large proportion of wounded 
men from that State. Being young and inex- 
perienced in the ways of the world he indignantly 
answered, "No." 

Early in the war the best troops in the army of 
Northern Virginia could not have 
humbuggery of fighting enough. At that time 
history. they were simple enough to believe 

that there was some connection be- 
tween fame and bravery. After a while they learned 
that a dapper little clerk of the quartermaster's de- 



Pickett ok Pettigrew? 65 

partment, if he had the ear of the editor of the Rich- 
mond "Examiner," had more to do with their repu- 
tation than their own courage. When this fact be- 
came known there was "no more spoiling for a fight," 
but it was xery often felt to be a hardship when they 
were called upon to do more than their proper share 
of fihting. 

The 40th, 47th and 55th Virginia regiments and 

22nd Virginia battalion com- 

brockenborough's posed this brigade. Up to the 

Virginia brigade, reorganization of the army after 

Jackson's death, it formed a 
part of A. P. Hill's famous light division. That it 
did not sustain its reputation at Gettysburg had no 
effect upon the general result of that battle. Their 
loss was 25 killed and 143 wounded. 

If any searcher after the truth of the matter con- 
sults the records and other sources of 
longstreet's reliable information, paying no at- 
men. tention to the clap-traps of Virginia 

writers, he will find, to say the least, 
that the troops of Swell's and Hill's corps were the 
peers of the best and the superiors of a large part of 
the soldiers of Longstreet's corps. In the battle of 
the second day if the four brigades of McLaw's divi- 
sion had fought as well as did Wright's and Wilcox's 
of the third corps, we would have undoubtedly gain- 
ed a victory at Gettysburg. Hood's was the best di- 
vision, but it was defeated at Wauhatchie, Tenn., by 
troops that the men of the second and third corps 
had often met and never failed to drive. As to Pick- 
ett's "writing division:" From Malvern Hill to Get- 
tysburg was exactly one year, and in this time the 
four great battles of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, 
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and twice as 



G6 Pickett or Pettigkew? 

many of less prominence were fought by the army or 
parts of the army. In these battles Lane's North 
Carolina, Scales' North Carolina and Archer's mixed 
brigade of Tennesseeans and Alabamians had three 
thousand six hundred and ten men killed andwOund- 
ed. En the same period Armistead's Virginia, Kem- 
per's Virginia and Garnett's Virginia had seven hun- 
dred and seventy-two killed and wounded. 
At Gettysburg where it had 102 killed and 322 
wounded it was a small brigade, as at 
scales' Chancellorsville only two months before it 
brigade, had met with a loss of nearly seven hun- 
dred. In the third; day's assault, General 
Scales having been wounded, it was commanded by 
Col. Lowrence, who was also wounded as was every 
field officer and nearly o\i>\-y company officer in the 
brigade. This gallant Little organization consisted 
of the 13th, 16th, 22nd, 34th and 38th North Caro- 
lina. Its first commander was Pettigrew, who was 
severely wounded and captured at Seven Pines. Then 
came Pender, then Scales, late Governor of North 
Carolina. At Gettysburg it and Lane's were the 
only troops who were required to fight every day. 
Mr. W. H. Swallow, of Maryland, a Confederate 
soldier and a writer of some note, was wounded at 
Gettysburg-, and in one of la's articles descriptive of 
the battle, says: "Gen. Trimble, who commanded 
Pender's division and lost a leg in the assault, lay 
wounded with the writer at Gettysburg for several 
weeks after the battle, related the fact to the writer 
(Swallow) that when (Jen. Lee was inspecting the 
column in front of Scales' brigade, which had been 
fearfully cut up in the first clay's conflict, having lost 
very heavily, including all of its regimental officers 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 67 

with its gallant commander, and noticing mi oy of 
Scales' men with their heads and hands bandaged, 
he said to Gren. Trimble: 'Many of these poor boys 
should go to the rear; they are not able for duty.' 
Passing his eyes searchingly along the weakened 
ranks of Scales' brigade he turned to Gen. Trimble 
and touchingly added, 'I miss in this brigade the 
faces of many dear friends.' * 

I,i a few weeks some of us were removed from the 
town to a grove near Uw wall that Longstreet had 
assaulted. As the ambulances passed the fences on 
the Emmittsburg road, the slabs were so completely 
perforated with bullet holes that you could scarcely 
place a half inch between them. One inch and a 
quarter board was indeed a curiosity. It was sixteen 
feel long and fourteen inches wide and was perforated 
with eight hundred and thirty-six musket balls. I 
learned afterwards that the board was taken posses- 
sion of by an agent of the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society. This board was on that part of the fence 
where Scales' brave little brigade crossed it." 
This brigade was composed of the 10th, 23rd and 
37th Virginia, the Maryland, battalion 
STEUART's and the 1st and 3rd North Carolina. 
brigade. When (Jen. Ed. Johnson, supported by 
two of Kodes' brigades, made his attack 
on the morning of the third day, this brigade dis- 
played conspicuous gallantry. Had Gen. Longstreet 
moved forward at the same time, the story of Gettys- 
burg might have been written very differently. There 
was not an indifferent company in this brigade. 
All were choice troops. The 3rd North Carolina pos- 
sessed in a pre-eminent degree the mental obtuseness 
peculiar to so many North Carolina troops. Try as 



G8 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

they would, they never could master the art of as- 
saulting entrenchments or fighting* all day in an open 
field without having somebody hurt. In the Sharps- 
burg campaign it had more men killed and wounded 
than any regiment in the army. At Chancellorsville 
there were only three— all North Carolina— whose 
casualties were greater, and at Gettysburg (losing 
fifty per cent.) it headed the list for its division. The 
1st North Carolina, a somewhat smaller regiment, in 
number of casualties always followed close behind 
the Third, except at Mechanicsville, when it went far 
ahead. It was indeed also one of those fool regi- 
ments which could never learn the all-important les- 
son which so many of their more brilliant comrades 
found no difficulty in acquiring. 

Col. Fox in his ••Regimental Losses," says: ''To 
all this some may sneer and some may say, 'Cui 
Bono?' If so let it be remembered that there are 
other reasons than money or patriotism which in- 
duce men to risk life and limb in war. There is the 
love of glory and the expectation of honorable recog- 
nition ; but the private in the ranks expects neither ; 
his identity is merged in that of his regiment ; to him 
the regiment and its name is everything ; he does not 
expect to see his own name appear upon the page of 
history, and is content with the proper recognition 
of the old command in which he fought. But he is 
jealous of the record of his regiment and demands 
credit for every shot it faced and every grave it filled. 
The bloody laurels for which a regiment contends 
will always be awarded to the one with the longest 
roll of honor. Scars are the true evidence of wounds, 
and regimental scars can be seen only in its record 
of casulties." 



Pickett on Pettigrew? GO 

How much punishment must d body of troops re- 
ceive before they can, without discredit 
defeat to themselves, confess that they have 
with HONOR, been defeated? In answer it may be 
stated that in front of Marye's Hill at 
Fredericksburg, Maegher's and Zook's brigades lost 
in killed and wounded, respectively, thirty-six and 
twenty-six per cent., and that the killed and wounded 
of the fifteen Pennsylvania regiments, constituting* 
Meade's division, which broke through Jackson's line, 
was36 per cent. This division was not only repulsed 
but route;!, and yet they were deservedly considered 
amongst the very best troops in their army. Ordi- 
narily it may be safely said that a loss of twenty-five 
per cent, satisfies all the requirements of military 
honor. Ordinarily is said advisedly, for in our army 
very much depended upon knowing from what State 
the regiment or brigade hailed before it could be de- 
cided whether or not it was justified in retreating. 
When on the afternoon of the third day of July, 1863, 
Pettigrew's, Trimble's and Pickett's divisions march- 
ed into that ever-to-be remembered slaughter pen, 
there was one regiment in the first named division, 
the 11th Mississippi, which entered the assault fresh, 
carrying in 325 officers and men. After losing 202 
killed and wounded, it with its brigade, left the field 
in disorder. Correspondents of Virginia newspapers 
witnessing their defeat accused them of bad behavior. 
Virginian historians repeated their story and the 
slander of brave men, who had lost sixty per cent. 
before retreating, lives to this day. In the spring 
of 1862 an army, consisting of ten regiments of in- 
fantry, one of calvary and two batteries of artillery, 
was defeated in the valley and the loss in killed and 



70 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

wounded was four hundred and fifty-five. Id the 
summer of 1863 there were eight regiments in the 
same division who took part in a certain battle and 
were defeated; but they did not confess themselves 
beaten ? till the number of their killed and wounded 
amounted to two thousand and two (2,002)— a loss 
so great that it never was before or afterwards 
equalled in our army or in any American army. In 
the first instance all of the troops were from Virginia 
and as consolation for their defeat they received a 
vote of thanks from the Confederate Congress. In 
the second case five of the regiments were from North 
Carolina and three from Mississippi. Did our Con- 
gress thank them for such unprecedented display of 
endurance? Xo. indeed! Corrupted as it was by 
Richmond flattery and dominated by Virginian 
opinion; the only wonder is that it retrained from a 
vote of ( -ensure. 

Four North Carolina infantry regiments, 29th, 
39th, 58th and 60th, and one of 

western A.EMY. cavalry, served in the Western 
army and did so with credit to 

themselves and State. 

The 15th, 27th, 46th and 48th regiments composed 
this brigade. It met with its greatest 

cook's losses at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, 
brigade. Bristoe Station and the Wilderness. The 
15th, while in Cobb's brigade, suffered 
great loss at Malvern Hill in addition to above. The 
48th fought at Oak Grove June 25th. the first of the 
seven days' battles, and suffered severely. The 27th 
was probably more praised for its conduct at Sharps- 
burg than any regiment in the army. 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 71 

The 24th, 25th, 35th, 49th and 56th made up this 
brigadi . it probably met with its great- 
ransom's est loss at Malvern Hill. The24th of this 
brigade, brigade and the 14th of Geo. B. Ander- 
son's both claim that after this battle 
their dead were found nearest to where the enemy's 
artillery had stood. The brigade also displayed con- 
spicuous gallantry at Sharpsburg, Fredericks! >urg 
and Drury's Bluff. 

Gov. Vance called them his ''seed wheat." There 
were four regiments and one battalion of 

junior these troops. They were used for the 
reserves, most part to guard bridgesfrom raiders, 
but a large part of them fought at Wise's 
Fork, below Kinston, and at Benton ville, where they 
acquitted themselves creditably. A witness has told 
the writer of having seen one of these children who a 
few days before had Lost both eyes by a musket ball. 
He said it was the "saddest sight of a sad, sad war." 

After the fall of Fort Fisher several battalions of 
heavy artillery which had been occupy- 
"red leg" ing the other forts near the mouth of 
infantry, the Cape Fear, were withdrawn and 
armed as infantry, joined Johnston's 
army. Xo troops ever fought better than they did 
;:; Kinston and Bentonville. At the latter battle one 
of these battalions was commanded by Lt. Col. Jno. 
D. Taylor, who lost an arm on that occasion. 

While the notices of the pamphlet have been gener- 
i 'rally favorable, it was not to be ex- 

the critics, pected that all would be so. There are 
those who see no need for reopening 

the question herein discussed. While confessing that 



72 Pickett or Pettigkew? 

a part of our troops have been directly wronged by 
slanderous words and all them wronged by implica- 
tion, they assert that time only is required to make 
all things even, and that the dead past should be al- 
lowed to bury its dead. Peace loving souls they 
deprecate controversy, believing that from it will re- 
sult only needless heart burnings. 

Then again there are others who object not only to 
the tone and temper of the article, but to the mere 
statement of indisputable facts. There should be, 
they say, a feeling of true comradeship among all 
who have served in the same army, especially in such 
an army as ours. That comrades should assist and 
defend each other in person and reputation, and 
under no circumstances should anything be done or 
said to wound or offend. To admit that there has 
been provocation in one direction does not justify 
provocation in another, for two wrongs never yet 
made a right. That to write of anything to the dis- 
credit of a part of the army of Northern Virginia is 
to a certain extent to injure the reputation of the 
whole army, and that a sentiment of loyalty to that 
army and love for its head should prompt its veter- 
ans to place its honor above all other considera- 
tions. Some old soldiers within and some without 
the limits of the State have expressed these opinions. 
Many others may entertain them. It may be they 
are right. It may be they are wrong. Who can tell? 
However, letters never printed show that there are 
many who think when once an effort in behalf of jus- 
tice is begun it should be continued 'till that end is 
attained, and be it remembered that the justice de- 
manded is for the dead who cannot defend them- 
selves. 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 73 

The 17th, 42nd, 50th and 66th North Carolina 

composed this brigade, and it was first 

kirkland's commanded by Gen. Jas. Martin. It 

brigade. was not sent to Virginia 'till the spring 

of 1864, when it was placed in a divis- 
ion made up for Gen. Hoke. It was hotly engaged in 
tht> battle of Drury's Bluff where Lt. Col. Lamb, of 
the L7th, was mortally wounded, at Cold Harbor 
where Cob Moore, the boy commander of the 66th, 
was killed, at Benton ville, Kinston, etc. But it is 
probable that the. hard ships endured in the trenches 
at Petersburg were responsible for more deaths than 
all the bullets of the enemy. 
Seven North Carolina batteries served in Virginia. 

All of them were very efficient, but three 
artillery, of them were so remarkably fine that it 

is a temptation to name them. 
We had five regiments and one battalion of cav- 
alry to serve in Virginia. They were the 
cavalry. 9th, 19th, 41st, 59th and 63rd North 
Carolina troops; but generally known as 
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th cavalry and the 16th bat- 
talion. If space permitted, incidents worth mention- 
ing connected with each of these organizations could 
be told. As it is, only two, which may interest North 
Carolinians generally, and citizens of Halifax county 
in particular, will be mentioned. In the summer of 
L864 when General Butler came so near capturing 
Petersburg, at that time defenseless, the 16th North 
Carolina battalion was picketing the road by which 
the Federals were approaching. It was then that 
this battalion, assisted by two light field guns, acted 
with so much spirit that the advance of Butler's 
men was so delayed that time was given for troops 
from Lee's army to arrive and man the fortifica- 



74 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

tions. Prominent among- the heroes on this occa- 
sion was a Halifax boy — Lt. W. F. Parker. On the 
disastrous field of Five Forks our cavalry was not 
only holding its own, but was driving that of the 
enemy when the infantry gave way. This success of 
the cavalry on their part of the line was very nearly 
the last ever gained by any portion of our army. 
They had been fighting by squadrons and that com- 
posed of the Onslow and Halifax companies of the 
3rd regiment had just made a successful charge, 
when, looking to the left, they suav the infantry re- 
treating in disorder. The squadron on this occasion 
was commanded and led by a Scotland Neck mount- 
ed Rifleman, the late Norfleet Smith — a brave officer, 
a good citizen and a loyal friend. Dear old "Boots" 
of other days ! Lightly lie the sod above your hon- 
ored head. 

"Earth has no such soldiers now, 
Such true friends are not found." 

This was a heavy artillery regiment stationed at 
Fort Fisher when the final attack 
thirty-sixth was made upon this fort. After the 
N. c. troops, fire from the ships had dismounted 
. their big guns and the assault by 
land was being made, they snatched up their muskets 
and showed the enemy how well they could use them. 
It is now generally conceded that not in the whole 
war did a body of soldiers ever struggle so long and 
so desperately against the inevitable. From traverse 
to traverse, from gun-chamber to gun-chamber for 
several hours the hopeless struggle went on. Capt. 
Hunter's Halifax company had 58 men killed and 
wounded out of 80 present. A letter from a, gallant 
member of the company, says : 

"There never was a formal surrender. It (the fort) 



Pickett or Pettigreav? 75 

was taken by piece-meal — that is, one gun-chamber 
at a time." When the capture of this place was an- 
nounced in Richmond and before any of the facts re- 
garding it were known, the abuse and vilification 
heaped upon its devoted garrison was something as- 
tonishing- even for that very censorious city. 

This brigade was composed of the 8th, 31st, 51st 
and 01st North Carolina. It served in 
clingman's South Carolina a great part of the war, 
brigade, and for the gallant conduct of the 51st 
in the defense of Fort Wagner, this regiment was 
complimented in orders. The brigade took a promi- 
nent part in the brilliant capture of Plymouth. It 
was engaged at Goldsboro, Batchelor Creek — where 
Colonel Henry Shaw, of the 8th, was killed— and at 
other points in North Carolina, before it went to Vir- 
ginia, which it did early in 1864. There it became a 
part of the command of Major-General Hoke. After 
having heroically borne all the privations and dan- 
gers which fell to the lot of this "splendid division,*' 
as styled by General Joe Johnston, it surrendered 
with it at Greensboro. 

The compiler of our Roster adds up the number of 
names printed in the four volumes, 

NUMBER of and makes a total of 104,498 ; but to 
.\. c. TROOPS, arrive at an approximation of the real 
number many subtractions, and very 
many more additions, will have to be made. 

The First Volunteers was a six months regiment 
(twelve companies) and was disbanded when its term 
nlistment expired. All of its companies re-enlist- 
ed, and thus these men were counted twice, right of 
these companies, with the addition of two new ones, 
becoming the famous Eleventh regiment. Many offi- 
cers were counted three, four, and sometimes live 



76 Pickett or Pettigeew? 

times in cases where they had been successively pro- 
moted. There were a great many transfers from one 
regiment to another, and in nearly every instance the 
individual transferred would be counted with both 
regiments. The Fourth cavalry battalion was incor- 
porated in a regiment, and its 271 names are count- 
ed twice. The Seventh battalion (detailed artisans) 
contains the names of 402 men who were detailed 
from regiments in active service, and of course they 
were counted twice. All of these repetitions would 
probably reduce the number given by the compiler of 
the State Roster by 3, 600 and make it about 100,900. 
On the other hand this number should probably be 
increased by 9,100. One entire regiment (the 68th), 
which carried upon its rolls at least 1,000 names, is 
not counted, for none of its rolls could be found. In 
many regiments the rolls printed were those in use 
the last year of the war, when they had been reduced 
to skeletons. For instance, in the 60th regiment the 
rolls of only nine companies could be found, which 
carried upon them only 467 names. The surviving 
officers of the missing company getting together, 
made out a roll from memory embracing the whole 
war, and the number of names was 114. So it is cer- 
tain that this regiment should have had more than 
twice as many names as it is credited with. The 
fighting 27th is only allowed 802 officers and men, 
when the 26th and 28th are both given considerably 
more than 1,800. The 37th is credited with 1,928 
names, while the 54th has only 663. Both of these 
regiments served in the army of Northern Virginia, 
and it is a fair presumption that they both received 
about the same number of conscripts. Basing his 
calculations upon our Roster, and some other 
sources of information, the writer has arrived at the 



Pickett or Pettigrew? 77 

conclusion that the number of soldiers furnished by 
North Carolina to the Confederacy was about 110,- 
000. Of course hundreds of this number shortly 
after enlisting were discharged as unfit for service. 
Many more should have been discharged and were 
not. but were required to undergo hardships that 
they were physically unable to bear, and the conse- 
nt! -nee was that they died by thousands. 

Of the number furnished, nineteen thousand six 
hundred and seventy-three are known to have been 
killed outright or died of wounds. Other thousands 
lost legs and arms, or were otherwise mutilated for 
life. Twenty thousand six hundred and two are 
known to have died of disease; and very many of 
these deaths are directly attributable either to the 
ignorance of our surgeons or the misdirected zeal 
that prompted them to retain in the service men 
who \\ere unfit for its duties, many of them being- 
little better than confirmed invalids. 

The great statistician. Colonel Fox, says: "The 
phrase, 'Military population,' as used in the eighth 
census, repi*esents the white males between the ages 
of 18 and 45, and included all who were unfit for mil- 
itary duty on account of physical or mental infirmi- 
ties. These exempts — which include also all cases of 
minor defects — constitute in every country one-fifth 
of the military population." Taking one-fifth from 
our military population we should have fur- 
nished to the Confederate armies ninety-two thous- 
and two hundred and ninety-seven soldiers. Butassaid 
above we (lid send to the front about one hundred and 
ten thousand, thirty-six per cent, of whom died. 



APPENDIX. 



East Las Vegas, N. M. 
Enclosed please find 25c. in stamps in payment for 
Pettigrew's Charge. I have read it with much inter- 
est. I think you have made a good case and that 
you are right. I was at Vicksburg the same day — 
the Adjt. 81st Ills. V.ols. Infty. 

I am .yours truly, 

J. J. Fitzgerald, 
Post Dept. Coind'r Dept. N. M. G. A. R. 

Abbeville, S. C, July 1st, 1896. 
Dear Sir: — I enclose 25c. in stamps for which be 
kind enough to send me your pamphlet entitled, 
"Pickett or Pettigrew?" if you have any copies on 
hand. I recently saw a copy in Charleston. You 
agree with me about Pettigrew and Pickett. I was 
Sergt. Major of Orr's Rifles, McGowan's brigade, Wil- 
cox's division. Some years ago I was looking at the 
cyclorama of Gettysburg in Philadelphia. The 
Yankee who explained the battle said that A. P. Hill's 
men advanced further than Pickett's, and pointed 
out to the crowd where a number of North Caro- 
linians fell at the extreme front. Yours trul3 x , 

Robt. R. Hemphill. 



"JUSTICE FOR OUR DEAD IS ALL WE WANT." 

Washington, D. C, Dec. 29th, 1888. 
Mj r Dear Sir:— Circumstances here have caused me 
to be so very busy of late that I have not had time 
sooner to acknowledge your courtesy in sending me 
the pamphlet on the battle of Gettysburg, I seize 
the occasion of the holidays to do so. The pamphlet 
was read by every member of 1113^ family with the 



Appendix. 79 

keenest interest. I have to tliaiikyou from my heart 
for writing" it. No living- man suffers more from these 
mean and jealous attempts to deprive North Carolina, 
of her proper honor than I do. I sometimes almost 
get sick over them. I have always regarded the 
effort of some Virginians, not all, thank God, to dep- 
recate the North Carolina troops in the battle of 
Gettysburg as simply a damnable and dastardly 
outrage. ******* * * 
But let us take courage. The simple truth will ulti- 
mately prevail— simple justice is all we want for our 
dead. Your friend and fellow North Carolinian. 



[The above was written by one who loved North 
Carolina and one whom North Carolina loved to 
honor.] 

A WISE JUDGE. 

The following is an extract from a letter written by 
a resident of Chicago, Major Chas. A. Hale, who has 
the honor of having served in the Fifth New Hamp- 
shire, a regiment which fought gallantly at Gettys- 
burg, and is distinguished for having sustained the 
greatest losses in battle of any infantry or cavalry 
regiment in the whole Union army : 

"There is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind but 
that the sons of North Carolina, Tennessee and Miss- 
issippi carved on the tablets of history equal laurels 
with the sons of Virginia in the great events of that 
supreme attempt to gain victory on Cemetery Ridge. 
Pettigrew and Trimble deserve equal honors with 
Picked, and if we weigh with judicial exactness more, 
for impartial evidence proves that they suffered in a 
greater degree, and forced their way nearer the lines 
where pitiless fate barred their entrance. The near- 
est point reached by any troops was Bryan's barn; 
this is made conclusive by evidence on both sides. If 
there were a thousand Confederates inside the stone 
wall at the angle more than two-thirds of that num- 
ber must have been Pettigrew's men." 



80 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

HOW PICKETT'S DIVISION 'ABSQUATULATED.' 

Pickett's division of the army of Northern Virginia 
is rarely heard of either before or after Gettysburg*. 
No body of troops during- the last war made as much 
reputation on so little fighting. Newspaper men did 
the work by printer's ink and the casualties were 
small. 

Fourteen hundred and ninety-nine were captured 
at Gettysburg. More than this number "absquat- 
ed" when Petersburg fell and there was a probability 
of leaving Virginia. Pickett's division made a poor 
show at the surrender at Appomattox. — Abbeville, 
(S. C.) Medium. 



.ESOP'S FABLE— THE DOG AND THE BONE. 

"They digged a pit, 

They digged it deep. 

They digged it for their brothers ; 

But it so fell out that they fell in 

The pit that was digged for t'others." 



An interesting contribution to the history of the 
battle of Gettysburg-is afforded in a pamphlet essay 
entitled "Pickett or Pettigrew?" by Capt. W. R. 
Bond, a Confederate staff-officer in the army of 
Northern Virginia. Capt. Bond's desire is to correct 
the commonly received accounts of the parts taken in 
that battle by the troops commanded by Gens. Pick- 
ett and Pettigrew. * * * * * * 
(Ten. Longstreet, according to Capt. Bond, is largely 
responsible for the current misrepresentation of the 
Southern side of the story of Gettj^sburg, and he tells 
in detail a curious story of the favoritism displayed 
all through the war towards everything Virginian at 
the expense of the soldiers from the other Southern 
States. — Springfield Republican. 



We have read with much interest a pamphlet by 
Capt. W. It. Bond, entitled "Pickett or Pettigrew?" 
in which the writer, a North Carolinian, proposed to 



Appendix. 81 

show, and does show very conclusively, that the loss- 
es of Pettigrew's North Carolina brigade in this 
charge were greater than those sustained by Pickett 
or, indeed, by any command in the army. He claims 
bhat the twenty-sixth regiment of this brigade suffer- 
ed greater loss than that of any command in modern 
fcimes. The fate of one company in this regiment re- 
calls Thermopylae; it was literally wiped out — every 
man in it was cither killed orwounded. Thispamph- 
lel makes a glorious showing for the resolute courage 
and intrepidity of the North Carolina troops, but it 
is endorsed by the brave boys here who fought by 
their side. It also pays a high tribute to the Ten- 
nesseeans engaged in that bloody fight, according 
them the place they occupied in it and the meed of 
praise they justly won. — Gallatin (Tenn.) Examiner. 



It contains some interesting statements from the 
Southern, and especially from North Carolina, point 
of view, the object of its author being to show that 
undue credit has been given to Pickett's Virginia 
brigades at the expense of the brigade of Pettigrew 
from North Carolina. The author contends that un- 
due prominence has been given to the part taken by 
Virginia troops in the war of the rebellion, owing to 
the leading part taken by Virginia newspapers and 
Virginia historians in reporting the events of the war. 
lie shows that North Carolina leads in the report 
given in Col. Fox's paper on the "Chances of Being- 
Hit in Battle." Of the troops losing the most men 
Mississippi comes next, and Virginia does not appear 
at all. He has suggestive reference also to the possi- 
bility of Gen. Longstreet being of Gascon descent. 
Altogether, his little pamphlet is lively reading. — 
Army and Navy Journal. 



A review of this pamphlet ought to and shall be 
carefully written. " :: " His reference to 

Gen. Pettigrew is in admirable taste and will evoke 
new sorrow for the untimely death of that cultivated 
gentleman and splendid soldier; but the dedication 



82 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

to Hill's corps is marred by a spirit which no provo- 
cation can justify. An author who loses his temper 
always breaks the force of his argument and weakens 
his cause. And so in the present case some salient 
facts which Capt. Bond presents lose most of their 
strength and effect by the spirit in which he clothes 
them. * * And suppose the charge of 

Pickett was given undue prominence in the general 
history of the war, (and we do not dispute it), was it 
kind or proper on that account to make a systematic 
attempt to vitiate the record of all the service render- 
ed by Virginia to the < confederate arms? * * 
And it is a worthy duty to resurrect those brave 
deeds from oblivion, a duty which Capt. Bond is well 
competent to discharge, and in the discharge of 
winch every Confederate Virginian would bid him 
"God speed." But he will pardon us for saying that 
the task, to serve any good purpose, must be ap- 
proached in a- different tone and temper than that 
displayed in his recent pamphlet, for we have passed 
by much of insinuation and allegation his work con- 
tains, hoping that a calmer frame of mind will lead 
the author to vindicate in another edition the name 
and fame of the gallant Carolinians without seeking 
to pluck one laurel from the wreath with which friend 
and foe have crowned the Virginia charge at Gettys- 
burg.— Petersburg Index-Appeal. 



After an inexplicable silence of nearly twenty-five 
years, the North Carolinians are beginning to assert 
themselves in regard to the charge on the third day 
at Gettysburg. Every student of the history of the 
war knows that it was not Pickett, of Virginia, but 
Pettigrew, of North Carolina, who was entitled to the 
principal credit for the charge. Pickett started out 
in command of the charging column, but stopped 
when within half a mile of our line, while Pettigrew 
went on with his North Carolinians and reached the 
farthest point attained by any rebel troops. — Na- 
tional Tribune. 



Appendix. 83 



Hall and Sledge are the publishers of this remark 
able pamphlet, which not only disparages Virginia 
and Virginia papers as bhey were during the war be- 
tween the States, but even Pickett's Virginians. The 
world has passed upon all these matters, and its 
verdict will not be changed. — Richmond Dispatch. 



VY. W. Owen, of New Orleans, late Lt. Colonel of 
Washington artillery, A. N. V., writes: "I have just 
seen a newspaper account of 'Pickett's charge,' by 
Capt. W. R. Bond, and am anxious to obtain a copy. 
I was at the battle of Gettysburg and. I think his ac- 
count of it will agree with my idea about it, at least 
as far as Pickett was concerned." This little book is 
well written and the author corrects a number of 
errors which have been published about certain bat- 
tles of the late unpleasantness. It is worth reading 
— Tallahassee Floridian. 



The Wilmington Star noticing an article in the 
Richmond Times: 

"We see from the Richmond Times that a reply is 
preparing to Captain W. R. Bond's stinging pam- 
phlet on the battle of Gettysburg. The Virginians 
do not intend to have it go down to history that 
North Carolinians did as well at Gettysburg-, or bet- 
ter, than the much trumpeted division of Pickett. 
North Carolinians must see to it that the brave men 
who made such a splendid record at Gettysburg are 
neither defamed nor robbed. 



T. Blyler, Captain in the 12th New Jersey, writes: 
"Your division (meaning Pettigrew's) advanced in 
our front nnd we bear willing testimony to your 
bravery and to penetrating farther than Pickett." 

W. H. Shaver, of Kingston, Pa., who belonged to 
the Philadelphia brigade, writes: "If convenient, say 
to Capt". Bond that I have read his pamphlet with 
very great interest as well as astonishment, for we 
of the North know of no other soldiers in the charge 



84 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

but 'Pickett and his Virginians..' It is a well written 
article and will cause history to be re-written." 

•!. 1). Yautier, of Philadelphia, Historian of the 
881 h Regiment of Penn. Vols., writes: kt I think it an 
excellent treatise, it appears to be the impression 
thai the Virginians did about all the fighting on the 
Southern side during the war. To be a Virginian 
was to bo all that was good. The record shows that 
the North Carolinians were away up head." 

W. E. Potter, Colonel of the 12th New Jersey, 
writes : "In an address delivered by myself at Gettys- 
burg May, 1886, I called attention to the gallant 
conduct of the North Carolina troops and the extent 
of their losses when compared with Pickett's. So far 
as 1 know my speech was the first publication to 
point out the fact that the troops of Pickett consti- 
tuted tee minor portion of the assaulting column." 

Col. George Meade, of Philadelphia, the son of Gen. 
Meade, who commanded the Federal forces in this 
battle, writes: "I am glad to find in it certain facts 
that confirm what has been my own impression as 
to the important part taken by the North Carolina 
troops in the assault at Gettysburg on the after- 
noon of the Svi] of July. I must congratulate you 
on having presented your case so strongly." 



Captain W. II. Bond, a North Carolinian and a 
Confederate soldier, who agrees with Col. Batchelder, 
of Massachusetts, the Government historian of the 
battle of Gettysburg, that the brilliant military ex- 
ploit popularly known as 'Pickett's charge' should 
be called 'Longstreet's assault,' has written a pam- 
phlet to call attention to the fact that Pettigrew's 
division of North Carolina troops in this charge went 
further and stayed longer and had more men killed 
than Pickett's division of Virginians. Cnptain Bond 
presents some interesting statements in the course of 
his narrative. 

It may be added that the North Carolinians also 
lost, by "one of the frequent mischances that govern 
the direction of popular praise, their share of the 



Appendix. 85 

y that their bravery should have gained, Mud 
which Pick vi ■: »n gathen »r itself. — Phil- 

>lphia Press. 

GEN. ULYSSES DOUBLEDAY. 

Capt. Bond's pamphlet showing that Pettigrew 
and not Pickett is entitled to the glory that graced 
the C< >nfederate banners at the battle of Gettysburg, 
is bearing fruit. It is bound to convince any fair- 
minded man who will read it. A private letter to the 
author from Asheville, says that the writer had a 
long conversation with Gen. Doubleday, a Federal 
officer and brother of the Gen. Doubleday mentioned 
in the pamphlet. "Gen. Doubleday contended," con- 
tinues (lie letter, "that Pickett's men did as so-called 
history says they did, and reaped all the glory.*' I 
asked him as a personal favor to read the essay, 
"Pickett or Pettigrew? ' He has just finished telling 
his opinion. Said he: "it opened my eyes. Your 
brave men have been slandered. Capt. Bond gives 
chapter and verse, it is a fine essay." — Weldon News. 



Mr. O. W. Blacknall, of Kittrells, in a letter to the 
News and Observer concerning the ceremonies at 
Winchester last Friday, pays a high compliment to 
it. W. R. Bond's book, "Pickett or Pettigrew." 
Mr. Blacknall mentions Capt. Bond's book as being- 
one of the documents placed in the pocket of the cor- 
nel- stone, and adds : 

"I will say in passing that the scholarly and pro- 
found brochure of Capt. Bond— 'Pickett or Pettigrew' 
—has never received the acknowledgment so eminent- 
ly its due. Therein he clearly shows the manner in 
which history was shaped to North Carolina's detri- 
ment. The Richmond papers seeking to please their 
patrons, chiefly Virginians, to put it mildly, laid 
great stress on the services of Virginia troops and 
little on their failures. They killed and made alive 
reputations of men as they saw lit. Pollard and 
other historians writing from the Southern stand- 



86 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

point followed largely the Richmond papers, and 
thus history was miswritten to our apparently irre- 
trievable harm. Capt. Bond's pamphlet should be 
widely read and its substance preserved in history." 
— Scotland Neck Commonwealth. 



LONGSTREET AND N. C. SOLDIERS. 

We copy a brief communication that will serve as 
an eye-opener to Longstreet's real claim upon North 
Carolina sympathizers. Our correspondent writes: 

"There are some old soldiers from North Carolina, 
who have always liked and admired Gen. Longstreet 
and they regret to see the strictures upon him in a 
recently published pamphlet. If they will read care- 
fully the foil owing- facts from the official records re- 
lating to the Sharpsburg campaign, they may feel 
that their partiality has been misplaced. 

"General Longstreet had in this campaign nine 
North Carolina regiments, whose killed and wounded 
averaged one hundred and four. In his corps there 
were eighty regiments from other States and their av- 
erage was sixty-four. In the eighty there were twen- 
ty-two Virginia regiments and their average was 
thirty-two. The 48th North Carolina had more men 
killed and wounded than any regiment of its corps. 
The 3rd North Carolina, of Jackson's corps, had 
more men killed and wounded than any regiment in 
the army. In fact, more than the entire brigades of 
Generals Armistead and Garnett combined. At the 
conclusion of his report of the operations of this 
campaign, General Longstreet mentions the names 
of thirtj^-eight officers, who had distinguished them- 
selves for gallantry. In this number there is not one 
brigade or regiment commander from North Caro- 
lina." — Messenger . 

REGIMENTAL LOSSES. 

A study of regimental actions shows clearly that 
the battalions which faced musketry the steadiest, 
the longest and the oftenest, were the ones whose ag- 



Appendix. 87 

gregate loss during the war was greatest. Fighting 
regimen ody wake behind them ; retreat- 

ing regiments lose few men. At Chancellorsville the 
heaviest losses were in the corps that stood — not in 
the one that broke. — Fox. 



W. K. B., in Wilmington Messenger: 

I write you a letter, as I wish to tell you about cer- 
tain i onversations I lately had with an old Confeder- 
ate—an officer of high rani:, and one who, after the 
war, was on intimate terms with Gen. Lee. It will also 
contain a copy of a letter received by me some two 
months ago from a member of Gen. Lee's staff, and 
some other things which I think will interest your old 
sotdier read* rs. In one of the eon rersations referred 
to mention was made of the letters of General Cobb 
(who was killed at Fredericksburg) which have lately 
been published. In one of these letters General Cobb 
says that Mr. Davis and General Lee thought there 
was only one Soil.' in the Confederacy, and that was 
Virginia. In referring to it I remarked that, allow- 
ing a little for exaggeration, I did not think he was 
" far wrong; that I supposed it was much the 
same in the other States, and that 1 knew of the per- 
sistent injustice, and sometimes even cruelty, with 
which North Carolina and her troops were treated. 
He fit once came to the defence of General Lee, and 
.-..id he knew positively that he was not responsible 
for much of the injustice of which I complained ; that 
in the matter of appointing and promoting officers 
General Lee often had v^vy little influence. For in- 
stance, after Jackson's death, when the army was re- 
organized and the two corps made into three, he was 
bitterly opposed to having A. P. Hill and Ewell for 
forps commanders. He wished to have Rodes— an 
Alabamian — to command one of them, and also 
wished to give a division to Pettigrew and he always 
said if his divisions and corps had been commanded 
at Gettysburg by officers of his choice he would have 

gained that battle. But, said General , as the 

secretary of war was a Virginian, and the influence 



88 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

of Virginia politicians was so all-powerful, both in the 
executive mansion and the halls of our congress, his 
wishes were not considered. Though a Virginian, he 
spoke at length of this baneful influence which fester- 
ed for four years in Richmond. And just here it may 
be remarked that probably bhe most humiliating 
thing connected with our struggle for independence 
— more humiliating even than defeat — was the fact 
that North Carolinians and other free born men 
should ever have allowed themselves to be at all 
dominated by a public opinion, which was made by a 
sorry lot of ignoble bomb-proof hunters. On one oc- 
casion I told General about the letter I had re- 
ceived from Col. Venable, and how he happened to 
write it. That I had heard reports as to General 
Pickett, while the assault was being made, which re- 
flected upon his courage, and was disposed to doubt 
them, as 1 had heard that he had acted very bravely 
in his vain attempt to rally his division when routed 
at Five Forks. I do not think 1 succeeded in con- 
vincing him of this, for I think he believes yet that 
General Pickett never went near his troops on this 
the day of their last battle. 

Wishing to know if there were any grounds for 
these reports, I wrote to Colonel Venable, asking 
him how far into the field General Pickett advanced 
with his division, and how near he was to it when it 
was repulsed, and the following is his answer: 

"Remington, Fauquier County, Va. 
"Dear Sir: — It has been settled by officers of the 
United States army, that both Pettigrew's and Pick- 
ett's men went to high water mark — that is, equally 
far in the charge at G ettysburg. The Federal govern- 
ment has caused marks to be placed at different 
points on the field with great care. 

"The charge should even be called the charge of 
Pettigrew's and Pickett's men. 

••Yours respectfully. 

"Chas S. Venable. 
"General Pettigrew was every inch a soldier and a 



Appendix. 89 

very great loss to the grand old army of northern 
Virginia. C. S. V." 

It will be seen that no attention is paid to my 
question, as there is no connection between it andthe 
intended answer. Tins may signify something or it 
may not. My letter may have been mislaid and con- 
tents forgotten. The time has been when the recep- 
tion of this letter would have greatly gratified me, 
but since 1 have made a study of the records and 
o1 her authorities I have become convinced that, with 
one exception, there was not a brigade in Trimble's 
or Pettigrew's divisions which did not only equal but 
really surpass any of General Pickett's in all soldier- 
ly qualities on that occasion. 

And now for a few of the figures you some time ago 
expressed the wish to see. For the whole battle the 
fifteen Virginia regiments on the right had in killed 
and wounded 1 ,360. Amongst those on the left were 
the five North Carolina and three Mississippi regi- 
ments, which constituted Pettigrew's and Davis' brig- 
ades, and their loss in killed and wounded was 2,002. 

What part of this latter loss was incurred on the 
third (\i\y will never be accurately known; but we 
know from the Federals that the artillery fire was 
largely concentrated upon these two brigades, and 
we also know from the testimony of Federal officers, 
one of whom was Colonel Morgan, General Hancock's 
chief of staff, that the dead lay thicker on the ground 
over which these troops had passed than upon any 
other part of the field, and if Ave did not know these two 
facts the case of one regiment furnishes a key to the 
per rentage of killed and wounded in its own brigade 
and that of the one immediately on its right. This 
regiment, the Eleventh Mississippi, did no fighting 
on the first day. as it was on detached service and 
consequently met with all its loss in the fight of the 
third. We know how many it carried in, and Dr. 
Guild's report informs us of the loss, and, knowing 
these numbers, we know that its per centage of killed 
and wounded was more than sixty — a per centage so 
high that not one Virginia regiment ever made it, 



90 Pickett or Pettigrew? 

and not a great many others. This and its com- 
panion regiment — the Second Mississippi — were old 
troops— veterans in fact as well as in name— had fought 
often and always well. By referring- to the Sharps- 
burg Campaign Series 1. Vol. xix. of the records, a 
comparison can be readily drawn between the con- 
duct of these two regiments in this campaign and 
that of several which were afterwards at Gettysburg 
with Pickett. A comparison that were it not so piti- 
ful would be amusing. 

If Pickett's troops carried in no more than claimed 
their per centage of killed and wounded was twenty- 
eight. But in order that their per centage might ap- 
pear as high as possible, it is probable their numbers 
were always represented as smaller than they were. 
Their fifteen regiments probably averaged 400. If 
they did not, they should have done so, for they did 
not often have anybody hurt — that is, compared 
with the troops in the army from the other States. 
In the period from the close of the Richmond fighting 
to Gettysburg — one year— twelve battles w T ere fought 
by the whole or part of the army, and in these bat- 
tles Archer's Tennessee, Lane's North Carolina and 
Scales' North < -arolina had 3,610 killed and wounded. 
Kemper's Virginia, Armistead's Virginia and Gar- 
nett's Virginia had 772. We can understand why 
these people were handled so tenderly, for were they 
not made of better clay than the fighters of the army? 
Fine porcelain from the province of Quang Tong 
were they — things of beauty, but fragile. 

In the assault Davis' brigade had about sixty per 
cent, killed and wounded. It is probable that Petti- 
grew 's brigade had even a higher per centage, as they 
were somewhat longer under fire. It is possible that 
Pickett's was twenty-five. But whatever it was, 
after all, their pretty wheelings and lovely drum 
major's airs, that the enemy should have been so un- 
grateful as to shoot at them, so wounded their feel- 
ings that they had to be sent out of the army and 
they did not re-join it for nearly a year afterwards. 

If a line of good' soldiers can be formed in rushing 



Appendix. 91 

distance, almost anything can be carried. But if a 
wide and open field has to be passed and there is to 
be a loss from twenty-five to seventy per cent, and the 
consequent disorganization, nothing but useless 
bloodshed can be expected. This would appear to be 
a truth so self-evident that the merest tyro could 
comprehend it. But yet Burnside and Hancock (till 
too late) do not appear to have done so at Freder- 
icksburg. General Lee did not at Malvern Hill and 
Gettysburg, and, in ignorance of this law, the gallant 
Schobelef sacrificed the best division of the Russian 
army at Plevna. 

Bodies in motion, by their momentum, advance in 
the direction of least resistance. A body of soldiers 
making an attack forms no exception to this law of 
physics. When the Philadelphia brigade of Gibbon's 
division, which had been roughly handled the day be- 
fore, gave way as our men got in charging distance, 
tliis point of least resistance was fiilled by Confeder- 
ates — a disorganized mob of about 1,000 — in which 
several brigades had representatives, and this is very 
foolishly called the "high water mark of the Confed- 
eracy." Why, there was not a fresh regiment in 
the Federal army which could not have defeated 
this body, and there was a whole corps of fresh regi- 
ments at hand. The Sixth, which by many was con- 
sider^] the best in the army had hardly fired a shot. 
If there was any high water mark connected with 
this battle it was reached the afternoon before, while 
McLaws, Hood and Anderson were doing their fight- 
ing — and the precise time was when Wright's brig- 
ade, of I he last named division, having driven the 
enemy before them, had carried a battery of twenty 
guns. Shortly afterwards one of McLawV brigades 
gave way. and with its defeat went our fortunes. 
Every shot fired by us the next day was one more 
nail in the coffin of the Confederacy. — Scotland Neck 
Commonwealth. 



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KETT OR PETT1GREW ? 



AN 



HISTORICAL ESSAY, 

[revised AND ENLARGED.] 



BY 



CAPT. W. R. BOND, 

Sometime Officer Brigade Staff Army Northern Virginia. 



"Tell the truth arid the world will come to sw 
it at Inst."— Emerson. 

B 



SECOND EDITION. 



Single copy, - - $ .25 

Fiveeopies, - - 1.00 



W. L. L. HALL, Publisher, 
Scotland Neck, N. C. 



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